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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



MAY 3 1837 



POLYGAMIST MORMONS ! 



HOW THEY LIVE 

AND 

THE LAND THEY LIVE IN. 

BY FRED. E. BENNETT, 

DEPUTY UNITED STATES MARSHAL. 



The author of this interesting narrative has, in graphic language, faith- 
fully depicted the stirring and exciting life he leads in ferreting out, with 
keen detective ability, the necessary evidence to convict the polygamous 
mormons, who rebelled against Federal authority. In his experience as 
Deputy United States Marshal he arrested forty offenders, some of them 
the most notorious of this notorious people. The Mountain Meadow 
Massacre, that most foul blot on the history of the great West, is, in these 
pages, told in all its atrocious reality, and with dramatic skill. The secrets 
of the celebrated and mysterious Endowment House are herein unfolded, 
and the manners, customs and life of this peculiar people are told with 
candor and truth. The graphic descriptions of the great West is of itself 
valuable to tourists and home- seekers. The reader may say, in all due 
sincerity, that " Truth is stranger than fiction," when reading the stirring 
incidents and almost incredible accounts of the mormons, but Mr. Bennett 
has simply thrown the clear light of investigation on this " dark stain on 
our country's escutcheon," and placed it before the public in a most fas- 
cinating manner. 

Printed in large type on good paper, fully illustrated, and elegantly 
bound in extra cloth, with ink and gold side and back stamps. 

PRICE $1.50. 

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ERIRD * EGG, Publishers, 

Cor. Clark and Adams Sts. CHICAGO. 



THE FRANK PINKERTON 

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N ana's Daughter, 



A STORY OF PARISIAN LIFE 
—BY- 
ALFRED SIRVEN AND HENRI LEVERDIER, 

With a letter from the authors to M. Emile Zola. 
TRANSLATED FROM THE 2&th FRENCH EDITION 



When M. Emile Zola wrote " Nana," the world thought that no truer 
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Cor. Clark and Adams Sts. CHICAGO, ILL. 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



AMONG 

THE MORMONS 

OR 

POLYGAMIST MORMONS 

HOW THEY LIVE AND THE LAND THEY LIVE IN 




FRED E BENNETT 

Deputy United States Marshal 



MORMONISM UNMASKED 



How Slaves Are Made ; How Kept in Subjection 
Secrets of the Far-Famed and Iniquitous Endowment House 
The Veil Drawn Aside ly One Who Has Been Through It 



Copyrighted 1887 
By UAIRD & LEE 



V MAY 3 188^ 



CHICAGO 

LAIRD & LEE PUBLISHERS 

Corner Clark & Adams Sts. 



INDEX. 



Introduction 17 

CHAPTER I. 

Doing Business Among the Mormons — How Run Out 
by Them 19 

CHAPTER II. 

Appointed Deputy 'United States Marshal for Idaho to 
Collect Evidence and Make Arrests — First Arrest 
of the Crusade — John Winn, a Polygamist through 
Ignorance — Lying Reduced to a Science — Martin 
Boyeson's Unsavory Record 24 

CHAPTER III. 

Rufus "Walker's " Baby Ranche " — A Conscientious Polyg- 
amist — His Flight and Capture in the Cellar of a 
Zion's Co-operative Institution - - - - 30 

CHAPTER IV. 

Arthur Peck, a Lazy Mormon — Polygamy a Good Busi- 
ness Enterprise 42 

CHAPTER V. 

Andrew Bioran's Story — Jealousy in the Harem — The 

Mink Creek Settlement 45 

CHAPTER VI. 
Henderson's Case — Lechery and Incest - - - 56 



1 4 a detective's experience 

CHAPTER VII. 

Secrets of the Far-famed and Iniquitous "Endowment 
House" Laid Bare — The Veil Drawn Aside by 



Apostate Mormon 62 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Bishop Porter — Sanctity of Marriage From a Mormon 

Standpoint — Perjury Upheld - - - - 67 

CHAPTER IX. 

Frightened Mormons — The Animals Stirred Up - - 92 

CHAPTER X. 



A Gentile Polygamist — Garrison, a "Native of Virginia 



Sah ! " 95 

CHAPTER XI. 
Trip to Paris, the Mormon Stronghold in Idaho, as Can 

vas-man with Cushing's Circus - - - - 02 

CHAPTER XII. 

" Jack Mormons" — Who They Are and What They Are 

Like. - 127 

CHAPTER XIII. 

i 

fobbed by Mormons at Franklin — How They Got Left. 129 

] 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Dixon — A Brave Man "In His Mind s " - - - - 137 

CHAPTER XV. 
Jergensen — Poverty No Bar to Polygamy - - - 142 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 1 5 

CHAPTER XVI. 

A Trip Through the Heart of Mormondom — Scenery 
and Incidents — The Land They Live In — Great 
Temple at Logan — The Church Ranches — Sancti- 



fied Live Stock 146 

CHAPTER XVII. 
A Female Champion — Red Pepper vs. Warrants - -164 
CHAPTER XVIII. 



How and Where Mormons Get Converts — Mormon Mir- 
acles — Butcher Knife vs. Mormon Missionaries — 



Early Marriages to Build Up Zion - - - -170 
CHAPTER XIX. 
Harvey Dixon Once More — Held at Bay - - - 182 

CHAPTER XX. 
Trip to Paris in Midwinter — Two Hundred Miles in a 
Sleigh — Father Takes His Own Daughter Into His 
Harem as Wife — A Good Haul - - - - 189 

CHAPTER XXI. 

David Jenson, a Brutal Dane — Squalor and Misery - 203 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Solomon Edwards — Mormons Capture Mormons — The 

Biters Bitten - - 206 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Brother Nelson, a Dane, Marries the Whole Family - 219 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The Famed Mountain Meadow Massacre — The Brutal 

Morrisite Outrage - - - - - - -223 



i6 



A detective's experience 



CHAPTER XXV. 
Brother Handy, Husband and Brother-in-Law to His Own 
Wives and Father and Uncle to His Own Children — 
Pulled From a Straw Stack - - - - 237 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Mormon Persecution of Gentiles — Husbands by Proxy 
— The Church Opens Houses of Prostitution With 
Harlots Brought From San Francisco — Peep Holes 
for Mormon Police — Signal Failure of the Scheme — 
Plotters Tried and Sentenced — Mobbing Officials— 
Disgusting Means Resorted To — Mobbing Mr. and 
Mrs. Stenhouse — Attempted Assassination of Deputy 
Marshal Collins — A Saintly Crew - . - - - 244 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

A Queer Hiding Place — Mormons Seek and Find Refuge 

in a Jail — How a Mormon Sheriff Stood by the Gang 250 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Anti-Mormon Champions — Poker and Prayer — The' 
Test Oath — The New West Academies — Orthodox 

Churches to the Rescue 260 

Hymns - - - - - - - - _ 272 

Appendix - - 283 



AMONG THE MORMONS 



INTRODUCTION. 

As the Mormon People have, by their pecul- 
iar so-called religion, made the name of "Mor- 
mon" notorious, if not popular, and thinking 
that items picked up during a residence of years 
among them, three of which were spent in bring- 
ing to justice Mormons guilty of the crime of 
polygamy, might be of interest, I have written 
the following narrative of facts. As among the 
forty polygamists arrested by me there were 
men with from two to seventeen wives, many of 
the facts will be found stranger than fiction, and 
as everything written can be verified, it will be 
found a picture of things as they exist to-day in 
the Territories of Arizona, Utah, Idaho and the 
eastern part of the State of Nevada. The Mor- 
mons occupy to-day some of the very choicest 
land in America, and while they prate about 
making "the wilderness to blossom like the rose," 
in reality they keep the country years behind 
the age, and if all the bloody deeds committed 
by them in the past forty years could be dragged 
forth, they would, if formed in procession, make 
such a ghastly array, as would put to the blush 



i8 



A detective's experience 



the infamous Spanish Inquisition; and although 
nothing very blood-curdling is promised in these 
pages, they will give, we believe, an insight into 
the class of people that uphold and build up the 
unholy institution. 

The supremacy of the Mormon Church means 
the enslavement of men, the degradation of 
women, and the utter destruction of the home 
circle. Our churches, schools and firesides are 
menaced by this overshadowing evil. Broken- 
hearted mothers, neglected children, and the 
most cruel social desolation are the necessary 
results of the Mormon creed, as not only taught 
but commanded by John Taylor, the Twelve 
Apostles, Bishops, Deacons and Elders of this 
so-called church. Polygamy not only degrades 
to the level of the beasts of the field, but it pol- 
lutes whole communities, taints the young mind, 
breeds infamy and ridicules virtue. Many are 
not aware that in scores of towns, villages and 
hamlets in the Territories already mentioned this 
state of affairs exists. The foregoing picture is 
not overwrought ; it is naked, unwholesome 
truth ; and if the naked facts, with no desire to 
paint in darker colors or set down aught in 
malice, are found as interesting to others as 
they have proved to me, then their mission shall 
have been accomplished. So without further 
preamble we will proceed. 



CHAPTER L 

Doing Business Among the Mormons — How Run Out 
by Them. 

Having been in business for two or three 
years in Idaho, in the Mormon section of it — 
that is, Southeastern Idaho — and having reasons 
for desiring to leave the field that seemed to be 
coveted by the leaders of the Mormon Church, 
who left nothing undone to make life wretched 
for any one outside of the Mormon Church, per- 
haps it would be well to go back a few months 
and give a brief review of how they not only 
spread their doctrines but acquire territory. 
Should a Gentile move into a Mormon settle- 
ment and attempt to do business, for a time all 
will go on smoothly enough ; the Saints will deal 
with him to a certain extent, and if there is found 
to be any prospect of making a convert of him, 
only the best side of Mormonism will be shown, 
and so thoroughly are they drilled in hypocrisy 
by their Presidents, Bishops, Apostles, Deacons, 
Elders and Teachers, each one acting as a spy 
on the actions of the one beneath him in grade, 
or justas they are classified above. The President, 
John Taylor, of course comes first. He has two 
Counselors, and so on down to the Teachers, 
each official has his Counselors or Advisers. 
And when it is taken into consideration that 



20 



A detective's experience 



each town, village and hamlet is provided with a 
full set, and their business consists of the propa- 
gation of the Mormon religion and their hearts 
are filled with a hatred for all who choose to 
differ from them, it needs no great stretch of the 
imagination to conceive of men capable of a 
Mountain Meadow massacre stooping to do any- 
thing to one whom their religion taught them 
was not only not of them, but also by his presence 
in their midst a menace. And so it was in the 
case of myself ; and many other Gentiles can 
testify that this state of things does exist even 
now. But to how much greater extent it existed 
when the law of Brigham Young was the 
supreme law of that section of country occupied 
by Mormons, and when he had human blood- 
hounds or Danites ready to commit any atrocity 
that he thought would in any way further the 
ends of the band of criminals that formed the 
Mormon Church. In this enlightened age, with 
railroads and telegraph lines in all directions, it 
is not found expedient to resort to violence. 
The Mormon leaders, being cowards as all cruel 
and tyrannical men in all ages have been, finding 
that a few Gentiles had determined to make 
their home among them, as they could not resort 
to the good old ways so prevalent in the dark 
and bloody days of Mormon supremacy, resorted 
to the petty annoyance plan ; and as Gentiles as 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



21 



a rule do not like to live like animals, our efforts 
to build and beautify homes for ourselves were 
looked on as a bad example to the ignorant rank 
and file of the Mormons around us, whose allegi- 
ance to the Church is in a great measure due to 
ignorance and superstition which the leaders can 
play on so deftly. What is called a " New 
Stake of Zion" was established, and the lines 
between Mormon and Gentile more closely 
drawn. Mormons were forbidden to work for 
Gentiles. They were also admonished by their 
Teachers not to transact business with Gentiles. 
Their Deacons — many of them old worn-out 
reprobates, steeped to the lips in crime, and who, 
had they been served as they deserved, would 
years ago have been sent to a higher court than 
that of earth for trial — would tell them that it 
was on account of their sins that they were now 
being punished by the presence of the Gentiles 
in their midst ; and that by their refraining from 
all intercourse with us we would be compelled 
to leave, and it would only be a question of a 
short time when our places would be had for a 
song. Old George Q. Cannon would tell them 
the Mormon God was a business God, and if 
they only brought in tithing, and would keep 
whatever business they had among themselves, 
very soon their God, whom he spoke of with 
about as much respect as one could expect a 



22 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



heathen to speak of one of his idols, would show 
them that their efforts were appreciated. As a 
result, business slacked up, and as life is too 
short to stay in a community where there is no 
enjoyment — at least that is the light in which it 
is looked at by me — it was decided to let one 
part of their teachers' prophecy come true ; and 
as they had determined to establish a "Zion's 
Co-operative Institution" where it would do the 
most good in "knocking me out." I saw the 
president of the institution. I told him that, 
owing to circumstances over which we had no 
control, etc., we had decided to close out, and 
would be pleased to have him look over the 
stock and we had no doubt we could come to 
terms. As it pleased him to think that his 
preaching had already borne fruit, and he was 
anxious to prove to others what his eloquence 
had been instrumental in accomplishing, he was 
fed on "taffy" as long as he was willing to take 
it. We told him that his sermons had decided 
us on taking this step, and that we had concluded 
to sell out. We managed to get out in pretty good 
shape, but still felt sore to think such a move was 
necessary ; and when all was done with we 

could not help telling Brother P that we 

would, in all probability, remember his kindness ; 
and I have no doubt that during his residence of 
a year in Boise City penitentiary he has had 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



23 



plenty of time for reflection. Although we felt 
sorry for him, we could not but feel that the God 
he trusted in was a delusion, a snare. Soon 
after the sale, being appointed Deputy United 
States Marshal for the Territories of Idaho and 
Utah, my duties gave me a more comprehensive 
insight into Mormonism than I had hitherto 
received. 



24 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER II. 

Appointed Special D. U. S. M. for Idaho, to Collect 
Evidence and Make Arrests — First Arrest of the 
Crusade — John Winn, a Polygamist Through Igno- 
rance — Lying Reduced to a Science — Martin Boy sen's 
Unsavory Record. 

About this time politics began to loom up, and 
as Southeastern Idaho happened to have men to 
the front that were thoroughly conversant with 
the Mormon question, and who bent their ener- 
gies in the one direction — that of putting a stop 
to the encroachments of Mormonism — it was not 
long before the Mormons were in a state that 
was to us fellows to whom they had shown their 
fangs a source of great amusement. My busi- 
ness as Deputy United States Marshal consisted 
largely in arresting Mormons guilty of the crime 
of polygamy, and I found the greatest pleasure 
in attending strictly to that business. I was 
generally to be found traveling by railroad, 
staging or on horseback in pursuit of polyga- 
mists. There never had been a great deal of 
love lost between the Mormons and myself, and 
now it became, figuratively speaking, " war to 
the knife." Their hatred of me found vent in the 
Logan Journal and other Mormon sheets, but on 
taking a retrospective view of the past I am 
satisfied that they got the worst of it. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



25 



Mormon ism, like a good many more creeds, is 
based on whatever passages of the Bible can be 
strained to meet their views and further the ends 
of the leaders. Anything in the Bible that is 
found to bear down on their practices is strictly 
tabooed, and when they cannot torture the Script- 
ures to suit their vile purposes they claim Divine 
revelation as their authority. While we were 
aware that polygamy was practiced to a great 
extent, yet on starting in to arrest polygamists, it 
was found that evidence to be binding would 
have to be gotten from the friends and relatives 
of " Mr. Polyg. " As their creed is different from 
almost any other, " thou shalt not bear false wit- 
ness, " from what I have seen, must read in their 
catechism " thou shalt lie when it suits thy pur- 
pose ; " for, of all the square, single-handed liars 
on earth Mormons stand out pre-eminent. After 
a while so sure did I become that their propen- 
sity for lying could be relied on that I have never 
hesitated to bet on it when opportunity offered. 
A case in point will illustrate how they are taught 
to lie from their cradles. One day myself and two 
friends were walking up the railroad track just 
outside the town of Franklin, Idaho, and our 
conversation turned upon this propensity of the 
Mormons. We shortly noticed a little midget 
approaching us, and I offered to bet that he would 
lie, no matter what I asked him, As he came up 



26 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



close I said, " What is your name, sonny ? " He 
hesitated a moment, and finally stammered out, 
" B-b-brown, sir. " We could all see by his man- 
ner of replying that he was not telling the truth, 
and after asking him another question or two I 
said, " Now, little one, what made you tell a lie ? 
You know your name is not Brown. " No, sir, " 
he said, " it's Packer ; but when you axed me I 
did not know you wuz Mormons, and daddy sez 
we must be orful keerful. " I replied, " that is 
right, my son, but if you're a Mormon I am sure 
you can give me the grip." " Oh yes, sir, I can 
give it, " he said, with an alacrity only equaled by 
his previous hesitation. " Turn it loose, my 
son, " said I, assuming as sanctimonious a look as 
possible. So placing his little skinny hand in 
mine, he gave me the Grip. Although not over- 
burdened with sentimentality, I could but wonder 
where such a religion would drag the poor 
wretches that were tied to it. 

We soon became better informed as to the 
workings of Mormonism, and men who had lived 
for years with what they knew was a sealed 
book, commenced to give me valuable informa- 
tion, when they found the United States govern- 
ment had at last determined to curb the insolence 
of the lustful, ignorant and boastful Mormon. 
Such information was invariably given under the 
strictest injunctions as to secrecy, as they well 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



27 



knew that were they discovered, their property 
would be destroyed, and in all probability their 
lives would pay the penalty. Very many men 
were found ready to break from a bondage that 
had long been irksome, and as arrest after arrest 
was made, we collected sufficient evidence to 
make over two hundred complaints, and have 
already secured the conviction of over seventy- 
five. Many of these are now serving out the 
terms of their sentences in the territorial peniten- 
tiary at Boise City and the House of Correction 
at Detroit, Mich. 

One of the first arrested by me was John Winn, 
and as he could neither read nor write, he said he 
"jest follered Mormonism bekase he wanted ter; 
when he was whar ligion of any kind was, ter 
kinder stand in — for instance like. He 'lowed 
ef perlig'my war wrong the gov'ment would ha' 
put it down long ago — did not see what they 
wanted ter monkey with it now fer, arter he'd 
raised two sets o' chil'n." 

John was an easy-going old chap, and good com- 
pany, but there was seemingly no intense desire 
on the part of the Saints to go on his bond. On 
inquiry it was found that while John took stock 
in the polygamy part of Mormonism, yet when it 
came to digging up tithing, he had been very 
"backward in coming forward." He took their 
apathy very coolly for a couple of days, but as 



28 



A detective's experience 



it came to be a question of bonds or jail, he 
finally got angry, and blurted out that " ef some 

o' the d d Saints didn't soon git to ther 

front thar would soon be a better history of ther 
Mountain Meadow massacre told than had yet 
bin heard." That settled it. In half an hour he 
could have been bailed out if his bonds had been 
ten times what they were, and Mormon vied with 
Mormon in showing John all those little atten- 
tions so dear to the heart of one in his position; 
and he said to me afterwards, "I made em git 
thar, didn't I ? " In court he pleaded guilty, and 
as he promised to obey the laws in the future, 
he was let off with a fine of two hundred dollars, 
and the last time I saw him he was living in the 
same old spot, and is to-day pretty lukewarm in 
the faith. 

Martin Boysen, a Dane, comes next. He had 
one wife in Idaho, and one in Utah, and his case 
was rather more loathsome than many others 
from the fact that before he removed one of his 
wives to Idaho the two women and himself used 
to live in the same house, all three occupying 
the same bed, and as the family increased the 
only additions made in the way of accommoda- 
tions were to the bed, which from time to time 
was enlarged. When arrested he was working 
for the judge before whom he was tried. His 
plea was that he had applied for a divorce from 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



29 



the second wife on the passage of the Edmunds 
Bill, and that he did not propose to live with her 
again. He did not consider his marriage to her 
by the Mormon Church binding. He took the 
oath prescribed by law, deliberately perjuring 
himself, and was discharged without a fine or 
reprimand, and on his release went back to the 
same mode of life. As time wore on, it was 
found he was living in open defiance of the law 
he had so lately sworn to obey, and not long 
since his first wife died, literally broken-hearted. 
Before she was buried he had the other wife 
brought to Idaho with children that by their 
ages proved him to have continued to live as 
heretofore; and to-day he can be found living in 
open and notorious adultery and raising a family 
of illegitimates — and Utah and Idaho are filled 
with men of his description. 



30 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER IIL 

Rufus Walker's " Baby Ranche" — A Conscientious 
Polygamist — Flight and Capture hi the Cellar of a 
Zioris Co-operative Institution, 

Old Rufe Walker lived up in a nook in the 
mountains far from the settlements, but as he had 
two buxom wives, and each one was abundantly 
blessed with children, he found it absolutely 
necessary that he should work in order to fill 
the mouths of the little Walkers, who came, 
" like troubles, not alone." The Mrs. Walkers 
generally managed to bring forth once a year. 
At least, I was led to believe so when trying 
to pick my way amongst the little ones while 
looking through the houses for Rufe, They had 
a little ranche on the head of what was known as 
Birch Creek, and he being "wanted," we started 
about ten o'clock one night early in the spring 
to interview, if possible, the muchly-married 
Rufe, taking with us a Gentile rancher whom we 
will call Jack, and who was acquainted with the 
locality. The term " Gentile," as used in this 
country, embraces all persons outside the Mor- 
mon Church, regardless of "color or previous 
condition of servitude." We had a ride of about 
fifteen miles over a rough and broken country 
which, as we reached the higher altitude, was 



AMONG THE MORMONS, 



one sheet of crusted ice and snow from one to 
three feet deep — unbroken by any travel. Rufe 
having so many wives and children to feed and 
clothe, was unable to own a team. Our horses 
would, in some places, go on for eight or ten 
yards, then breaking through, would flounder on 
until they reached a firmer foothold on the frozen 
surface, and we would again be enabled to pro- 
ceed at a reasonably fair speed. Our road lay 
along the side of a mountain, which precluded 
the possibility of our turning back — once begun, 
the journey had to be gone through. We at last 
reached the top of the divide or mountain which 
separated Rufe's ranche from the settlement in 
the valley on the other side. Hearing the bark- 
ing of dogs, I asked Jack how much farther we 
had to go; Jack replied: "They live down in 
that gulch." 

"It's a pity they don't keep a few dogs," I 
remarked, as the dogs became more clamor- 
ous. 

"I reckon you'll think there are dogs enough 
before you get through," said he. "Rufe's pro- 
perty consists principally of kids and dogs." 

However, we at last reached a point suitable 
for unhitching the horses, where the snow having 
been exposed to. the wind and sun, had left a 
bare little knoll. While Jack attended to the 
animals, I went over to reconnoitre, as it were, 



32 



A detective's experience 



and looked down the black dugway or road that 
led to the foot of the mountain where Rufe's 
houses were situated. The shadows of the 
mountains that towered above us to an enormous 
height hid Rufe's places of abode from my 
view, and as I was straining my eyes and reach- 
ing over the brink of what I supposed was solid 
ground, but which proved to be a ledge of ice, 
I slipped and rolled to the bottom of the gulch 
in an avalanche of broken ice, snow, rocks and 
earth. 

The dogs hearing the racket added their dis- 
cordant howls to the general uproar, and, as I 
found out afterward, Rufus made for the brush, 
not knowing whether it was the devil or deputy- 
marshal after him — at least that was the way 
he described it. On picking myself up, I found 
I was but a few feet from the Walker cabin No. i, 
and hastily knocking at the door, was asked who 
was there. The inmates were evidently wide 
awake, and when I told them what my business 
was they gave me to understand that this was 
Rufe's night off, or in other words, that he was 
at the other house, which was about a hundred 
yards further down the gulch. After they opened 
the door I entered the cabin, and looking round 
closely for a possible hiding-place, I could find 
no sign of Rufus. Jack having by this time 
reached the place, I told him to keep his eye on 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



33 



the house while I ran over to cabin No. 2. I lost 
no time in getting- there and knocked at the door. 
A man's gruff voice on the inside demanded my 
business, to which I replied that I would fully 
explain it when he opened the door. After some 
hesitation it was held ajar by a young man of 
twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, the son 
of Rufus. I told him what was wanted, and that 
I had been informed that Rufe was here. If he 
was I wanted him. 

"Wal, he bean't yer," he replied. "He's 
down at t'other house. " 

"That's too thin," said I; and stepping inside 
and finding no light I asked him for a lamp. 

" Thar's the lamp on ther table," said he, "if 
ye want it light it." 

Striking a match I found on a rickety table an 
old yeast powder can full of grease with a rag 
in it, and as it was the only article resembling a 
lamp as far as I could see, I lit it and succeeded 
in throwing what little light such means afforded 
upon the inmates of the cabin. Besides the 
young man there were in the cabin several chil- 
dren as well as Mrs. W. No. 2. She said: 

"Ye needn't look for Rufe yer; he ain't been 
home for more'n a week." 

" What do you call home ? " I asked. 

" Why, up yer in the canyon." 

" Which house in the canyon ? " 



34 



A detective's experience 



" Why both," said she. 

"What's the use of lying about it? The 
other Mrs. Walker gave it away; and right now 
you know Rufe's shivering out in the sage 
brush. If you people had just a little sense you 
would see there is no use dodging 'round 
through the sage brush ; and as for lying, 
where's the use of it when the truth will do just 
as well ? You know just as well as I do that 
Rufe is in the canyon right now as it is quite 
evident he is not here ; but while I am up here 
perhaps it would be just as well to subpoena you 
to be in Oxford at one o'clock p. m. to-day. 
When Rufe comes in to warm himself after I am 
gone tell him to come in and give himself up, 
for we are going to camp right on the trail 
from this on and it is only a question of time 
when he will have to take his medicine." 

" How are we gwine ter git ter Oxford ? " 
interposed the young man. 

"Why, come with your team," I replied. 

"Thar beant no team yer," he said. 

"What," said I, incredulously, " haven't you 
got a team, Mrs. Walker ? " 

" Naw, we ain't got no team. What does we 
want of a team up yer in this canyon ? " 

" Why, to work the ranche with," said I. 

" We don't need no team, for we don't raise 
much craps outside of babies and carrots' 1 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



35 



" Well/' said I, "we've brought a team, so get 
ready, and if Rufe shows up tell him to come in 
as it will look better for him to give himself up, 
than to keep dodging until at last arrested. I'm 
going back to the other house now and will wait 
for you there." 

As it was by this time near daybreak and I 
was preparing to leave, the son shouted out : 

" If dad comes in we will git him to come 
along. We gits mileage, don't we ? " he asked. 

" Yes, you get mileage, " I responded ; and 
from the young fellow's manner I was inclined 
to think that he was interested more in getting 
his mileage than he was in the old man's 
safety. 

On returning to the other house I found Jack 
had lit a fire and was chatting very cosily with 
the lady who presided over this portion of Rufe's 
dominions. He soon found an opportunity to 
tell me that Rufe was not far away, and when I 
told her ladyship what the other old woman had 
said about Rufe not having been seen in the 
canyon for a week, she laughed. I subpoenaed 
Mrs. Walker, and telling Jack that I was going 
up the mountain to hitch up his team and saddle 
my own horse, I left the cabin. I also in- 
structed him to have Rufe meet us in the morn- 
ing about nine o'clock, and ride to Oxford with 
us from Red Rock, near which latter place Jack 



36 



A detective's experience 



lived. I found the ascent of the mountain much 
more tedious than my descent a few hours pre- 
viously, and by the time I had the horses hitched 
up and my horse saddled the rest of the party 
had arrived, and a jolly crew they were. The 
boy had had an opportunity to tell them of the 
mileage they would receive as witnesses, and as 
he shouted to his " mothers " who were ahead 
of him, their interest in the conversation left no 
room for doubt in my mind that our visit was 
looked upon as a fortunate windfall, as carrots 
and other provender were getting low in the 
Walker commissariat department, while in the 
case of Mrs. Walker No. 2, " coming events cer- 
tainly cast their shadows before. " 

" Where's Rufe ? " I asked, when all had 
climbed to where the team was. 

"Oh, he's all right," they said. "He'll be 
down to Red Rock to meet us. " 

" Will he get mileage ? " asked the family in a 
breath. 

" Yes, he'll get mileage — (adding to Jack 
sotto voce) to come home on when he gets his 
time served. " 

Jack told me they had done nothing but 
figure on mileage since I left the cabin, and he 
believed those who were not subpoenaed to 
testify against Rufe were the only ones who did 
any "kicking." It was daylight when we got 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



37 



down in the valley, and we stopped at Jack's 
ranche for breakfast/ We then proceeded on 
our way to Oxford, arriving- at Red Rock about 
9 a. m. This is a little nook hemmed in by 
beetling cliffs of red sandstone formation, from 
which it takes its name. There are several 
ranches in the vicinity, and it was here we 
expected to meet Rufe. But in place of him a 
few scowling Mormons were awaiting us, and 
on our asking if anything had been seen of him, 
one old Saint noted for his fanaticism and who 
acted as spokesman for the party, informed us 
that he had not seen him for a month — in fact, 
he was not very well acquainted with him, 
although the old reprobate, as we afterwards 
learned, had parted with him only a few moments 
before, and had told him that a Mormon did not 
have to keep his word with a Gentile — the 
Gentiles were the Devil's own, while the 
Mormons were God's chosen people. We 
waited a short time in hopes that he would show 
up, but as it was getting late in the forenoon and 
we were yet some distance from our, destination, 
we thought it best to get the witnesses on to 
Oxford as soon as possible, and we arrived 
there early in the afternoon. The officials 
greeted us with a laugh when they found me in 
possession of the witnesses but minus a prisoner. 
We were pretty well worn out with the trip, so 



38 



A detective's experience 



it was proposed to take the evidence of the 
witnesses and let them return home. I resolved, 
however, to go and hunt up Rufe alone as soon 
as I was rested, for the road was now familiar to 
me, and the snow would be soon out of the 
canyon. Rufe, however, came to the conclusion 
that the advice given him by the fanatical crew 
around Red Rock was not good enough to be 
blindly followed, and that evening he trudged 
into Oxford on foot, with the intention of sur- 
rendering himself to me As I had been thirty- 
six hours without sleep and had been riding hard 
most of the time, I slept late the next day, 
knowing that the Marshal and another Deputy 
were on hand to receive Rufus with open arms. 
We were, however, somewhat chagrined to find 
that poor Rufe had been already looking for us, 
but had been coaxed by some of his fellow-saints 
to get out of the way, and put off what his better 
judgment had prompted him to do, It gave me 
considerable satisfaction to find that the laugh 
was not altogether against me, and that my 
fellow-officers had to bear a good share of it. 
As Rufe had been seen only a couple of hours 
before I heard of his arrival, it was evident that 
he was stowed away somewhere in the town, 
and it was determined to leave no stone unturned 
to find him, and put a stop to the long-continued 
game of hide and seek. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



39 



The search was commenced at the prem- 
ises of the Zion's Co-operative Mercantile 
Institution, which is run in the interests of 
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday 
Saints, and presided over by the sanctimonious 

Brother P . I told him I would be pleased 

to take a look through the establishment 
as I had reason to believe Rufe was there. 

Brother P flushed up, but as he saw I meant 

business, he made a virtue of necessity, and I 
went through the building until I came to the 
room in which the trap door leading to the cellar 
was. He objected to my going any further with- 
out a search warrant, and as I was satisfied that 
he was at the end of his rope and I had the game 
treed, I called to an officer whom I had stationed 
at the back door, to keep his eye on the cellar 
until I could get a paper strong enough to sat- 
isfy Brother P . The Commissioners' office 

was just across the street, and in a few moments 
I returned with a document calculated to suit 
even a man as fastidious as he was. On open- 
ing the trap-door and descending the steps, I 
saw enough signs of occupancy to warrant me 
in thinking that a better light would reveal the 
features of my long-lost Rufus. I procured a 
light, and sure enough, there, crouching in a 
corner behind some boxes, was my man. I told 
him the " jig was up," and we both emerged 



40 



A detective's experience 



from the cellar — Rufus happier, as he afterwards 
said, than he had been for some time. He was 
eventually tried, and got six months in the peni- 
tentiary in addition to a fine of $300. Brother 

P was unfortunate enough to be arrested for 

aiding a criminal to escape, and as he evidently 
wanted to appear as a martyr, and would not 
promise to obey the laws in the future — he 
acted very defiantly before the judge, who 
wanted to deal leniently with him, — he was 
finally accommodated with one year in the peni- 
tentiary, from which place he was lately released. 




AMONG THE MORMONS. 



41 



CHAPTER IV. 

Arthur Peck, a Lazy Mormon — Polygamy a Good 
Business Enterprise. 

Arthur Peck, of Gentile Valley, deserves 
some spaee in this narrative, as illustrating the 
fact that though he was too poor to support two 
wives, he was not too proud to allow himself to 
be supported by them. He was one of that saintly 
class of Mormons who marry because they think 
it is right and proper to have more than one 
wife. 

The settlement in which he lived was intensely 
polygamistic, and women were classed in the 
same category with mules, horses, and the like ; 
in fact were looked upon as mere slaves, whose 
only value consisted in the amount of labor they 
could perform each day. 

Being fully alive to benefits to be derived from 
the possession of a multiplicity of wives, Mr. 
Peck availed himself of the so-called God-given 
privilege, and provided himself with two, who, 
being good workers, gave their liege lord and 
master an opportunity to rest his body ; and at 
the same time he placed his soul in a position 
where it would be sure of attaining a high place 
in the Mormon heaven when ready to do so. He 
was married to two sisters, and was one of those 



42 



A detective's experience 



sanctimonious brethren who would sooner get up 
in meeting- and prate about what a good thing it 
was to be a Mormon, especially a polygamous 
Mormon, than to help his two poor dupes of 
women to provide food and other necessaries for 
the progeny. 

His wives were splendid adobe makers, and 
as my readers may not all know what adobe- 
making is, I will briefly describe it: 

Adobes are made of clay, being cast in molds 
like bricks, only about twice as large, and is 
about as hard work as there is, and the common 
run of laborers would prefer any other kind of 
work to this. However, the fanaticism of the 
Mormon women, and the terrors of the punish- 
ment which they are taught would be meted out 
to them should they disobey, makes them willing 
to perform labor which, in a Gentile community, 
would not be tolerated. 

Adobes are used extensively throughout the 
West for lining frame houses ; that is, putting 
adobes between the studding, and lathing and 
plastering over them. A good specimen of this 
work can be seen in Gentile Valley, as several 
houses there have adobes in them that were made 
by the Mesdames Peck and sold by their illus- 
trious husband. These ladies were also good 
farm laborers, and the saintly Peck used to hire 
them out like George Harris's master in Uncle 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



43 



Tom's Cabin. And while he went to meeting in 
different parts of the country and told what the 
Lord had done for him, he did so with a light 
heart, knowing that Mrs. Peck No. i and Mrs. 
Peck No. 2 were industriously making adobes to 
keep the wolf from the door, as it were. On 
arresting the brave Peck one morning about day- 
break I found wife No. i in bed with an infant. 
He seemed to exult in the fact that so low down 
a saint as he should be called on, and I believe 
looked upon himself as a martyr to the cause. 
She made some protest from where she lay, and 
as we left the house I could not refrain from 
saying, u My dear madam, I don't see why you 
should kick. What you get for making adobes 
while your loving protector is in the cooler you 
will have all to yourselves, as his board will not 
cost him a cent." At Peck's trial, some months 
afterwards, one of his wives refused to testify 
against him, and being found guilty of contempt 
of court she was given some hours to think over 
it, and she finally concluded that " prudence was 
the better part of valor. " After committing per- 
jury several times in his own behalf, he was found 
guilty and sentenced to six months in the terri- 
torial penitentiary, and to pay a fine of $300. 
That being a sum he probably never saw in one 
pile, he got out of paying it by taking the 
pauper's oath and staying in the prison an addi- 



44 



A detective's experience 



tional thirty days. He has since returned to 
the bosoms of his two better thirds, and is carry- 
ing on the same old business at the same old 
stand. 



AMONG THE MORMONS, 



45 



CHAPTER V. 

Andrew Bioraris Story — Jealousy in the Harem — The 
Mink Creek Settlement. 

Andrew A. Bioran was a fresh arrival from 
Denmark, one of those who are destined, by 
their unlimited cheek, to be looked up to by 
their neighbors as something above the common 
run of those by whom he is surrounded. He got 
married, got (Mormon) religion, and at once 
began to run down and abuse the government 
that gave him, instead of poverty and wooden 
shoes, the right to a quarter-section of land on 
Bear River, Idaho, before he knew enough to 
talk good American. At elections he was always 
the biggest toad in the puddle, and was the 
acknowledged leader of all the Danes in his 
neighborhood. To prove how brave he was, 
and to teach them both by precept and example, 
he took to himself a second wife in the person of 
the young daughter of an old Danish polygamist 
up in the Mink Creek settlement. And now a 
word about this little Danish colony. In the 
eastern corner of Oneida County on what is 
known as Mink Creek, a stream that empties 
into Bear River, is a settlement composed almost 
entirely of Danes. They are, for the most part, 
such recent arrivals in America that they have 



46 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



not, as yet, been emancipated from the thraldom of 
their native clogs and ignorance. Sprinkled 
through the settlement are a few of the most 
ignorant Americans I ever had the misfortune to 
fall in with, who look upon John Taylor, the suc- 
cessor of Brigham Young, as little less than a 
God, and who are satisfied to herd together like 
animals. In the whole settlement there are but 
few houses above the dignity of a Piute wickiup 
or wigwam, and here in this select community 
lust and filth go hand in hand. In this delect- 
able spot Mormonism was supreme, and should 
one be unfortunate enough to have a mind of his 
own and differ from the animals around him, nis 
lot was hard indeed. As an instance, there was 
one case that came under my notice of an old 
Danish couple, who either from inability or being 
unwilling to give tithing failed to do so. They 
were very old people, and to add to their forlorn 
condition the old woman had but one hand, hav- 
ing accidentally lost the other one at the wrist. 
Their harvesting was done in the most primitive 
manner — that is, with a sickle. My readers can 
judge why they had not donated. Their fanat- 
ical neighbors, however, marched to the old 
couple's little hoard and took the greater part of 
their wheat to the tithing-house by order of the 
Mormon Bishop, an old Dane who is now in 
Denmark on a mission, to escape the penalty 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



49 



L 



attached to the crime of being a three-ply polyg- 
amist. This old ecclesiastical Dane is the father " 
of Bioran's second wife. 

I have often been asked how polygamist 
women, in their little nests, agree — was there 
no jealousy displayed. This case is one of many 
instances where all is not the calm and peace in 
polygamist households they would have people 
believe. Not knowing where Bioran lived or 
what he looked like, I secured the assistance of 
a rancher, whom we will call Dan, as a guide. 
As we proposed going to his little old " log cabins 
in the lane " about dusk, I went fishing in Bear 
River until it was time to meet the party who 
was going with me. One reason for going after 
dark was that it was not healthy for parties who 
resided in the vicinity to take a hand in arresting 
a polygamist, as wire fences are easily cut, cattle 
are easily poisoned, and many a way of playing 
out even suggests itself to the minds of those 
who, banded together as Mormons are, make 
common cause against him who is in any way 
connected with the arrest of one of them. How- 
ever, to make a long story short, I met my friend 
at the appointed time, and shortly afterward we 
rode up to Bioran's ranche. As the party with 
me had done all he had agreed to and was about 
to ride off after showing me the houses, I drew 
his attention to something I saw in the twilight 



50 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



that appeared to me to loom up like a camel or 
giraffe. 

" What in the mischief's that, Dan," said I. 
' Damfino! " said he ; " a horse, ain't it ? " 

" No, it is not a horse ; but hold mine while I 
get over the fence and see." 

I slid from the saddle, and climbing the fence, 
made for it, and as it was doing its best to get 
away, the thought struck me that it might be a 
man, although it looked like anything else. I 
shouted for it to stop, but it only went the 
faster. As it was nearine some underbrush that 
would screen it from my view, I concluded to see 
if a shot would stop it. I therefore turned loose 
in the air, and was amazed to see he, she or it 
not only stop, but dwindle down in the twinkling 
of an eye to half its size, and as I came up to it, 
I heard a voice say in broken English, " Who 
vas dot ? " On finding it was a man, I told him 
I wanted an interview, and asked him his name. 

" Anthro Beoran," was the reply. 

I found out that what had puzzled me regard- 
ing the extreme height and size as I had first 
caught a glimpse of him, was a box and bundle 
he was carrying on his head. He was pretty 
well broken up when I told him who I was and 
what I wanted. He said, "he vas not come 
here to-night only he thought I vas in Oxford 
mit Peck yet," and did not know how I could 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



5i 



have returned so soon. However, I told him 
there was great demand for Saints of his stripe, 
and I was doing my best to supply the market. 
We went back to where Dan and the horses 
were, and Andrew explained that he had just 
got back from Mink Creek a few minutes before 
I got there, and was making for his "vifes und 
fam'blees" when he first saw me, Telling him I 
would like an early start, it being thirty-five 
miles across the mountains, and that he would 
need bondsmen, we went to his homes so that he 
could inform his wives and families that he was 
in the hands of the Philistines. 

I persuaded Dan to accompany me, and told 
him he need not show up at the residences, but 
keep his eye on my prisoner while I could go 
and subpcena the women. Arriving at the house 
of his first wife, Brother Bioran rapped on the 
door, and although it was early in the evening, 
was sleepily answered from within. 

" Who vas dot? " 

" Dot vas me, Lina," he replied. 

" Vas dot you, Antroo! " 

" Yaas, dot vas me und dot Debidy Marshal." 

" Und dot who — o — o? " asked the beleagured 
lady, in tones of angry surprise. 

" Dot Debidy Marshal," said Andrew. 

Then came from within a rapid volley of 
Danish oaths, presumably hurled at my devoted 



52 



A detective's experience 



head. While Lina was getting on her duds the 
conversation was continued between Andrew 
and herself, and some of it I could easily under- 
stand as applying to myself. Finally the beauti- 
ful figure of Lina stood in the open door, and as 
the light revealed to her the figure of " yours 
truly," she cross-lifted me with another volley of 
Danish, strong enough to scuttle an ironclad, 
there being just English enough in it to enable 
me to interpret the character of her invective. 
In the meantime she hugged Andrew in the 
most affectionate manner. When I got a good 
look at her face, I felt that I would as soon have 
the volley of Danish as the embraces and kisses, 
for owing to the loss of her teeth, and other little 
ravages made by time, Lina, to my mind, as a 
beauty was not a success. Good-looking polyg- 
amist women are like angels' visits, few and far 
between. When I thought they had yum-yumed 
long enough, I told Andrew he had better get 
his supper, and pulling out a subpoena I turned 
to Mrs. Bioran with a Chesterfieldian bow and 
said: " Allow me to subpoena you to be at 
Blackfoot, Idaho," and proceeded to read the 
official document to her. After a few moments, 
seeing Andrew had demolished everything in the 
way of eatables within his reach, I said: 

"Andy, where does Mrs, B, No. 2 live? You 
had better go and bid her good-bye." 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



53 



" You can shtay in der house mit Lina here 
vhile I go down und see Katrina. I coom back 
right away pooty qvick," replied Andrew. 

" I am afraid of Lina," said I. "She might 
butcher-knife me; and besides you might take 
cold without some one around you.'* 

He laughed and said, "Coom on, den." 

We arrived at the other house, which was 
about a hundred yards distant and an exact coun- 
terpart of the one we had just left. Andy 
knocked at the door, and a feminine voice asked 
"who vas dot?" He told her to open the 
door. She seemed sulky, and refused, and quite 
an animated conversation in Danish took place. 
At last I told Andrew I had to have that door 
open and asked him her name. 

" Katrina," said he. 

I knocked at the door, and calling her by 
name in accents soft and low, I finally got her to 
open the door. Her reception of Andy was 
entirely different from that of Lina. No kissing 
and hugging here, and although Katrina was a 
good-looking young girl in comparison with 
Lina, I could plainly see that Andy took more 
notice of "ugly mug" than he did of her. After 
I subpoenaed her Andrew said he "tink she vas 
better sleep mit Lina for goombany sake vile he 
vas avay," but as he could not sleep with both of 
them at the same time very well, even if he was 



54 



A detective's experience 



home neither Katrina nor I could see the utility 
of this arrangement. At any rate she demurred, 
but came down to the other house, and the 
osculatory process was resumed between " old 
toothless ; ' and Andrew, much to the disgust of 
myself and Katrina, who stood looking on with 
the baleful light of the green-eyed monster 
plainly depicted in her eyes — in plain United 
States Katrina was evidently desperately jealous 
of Lina. Feeling sorry for her, and becoming 
somewhat impatient at the delay, I told Andy to 
give Katrina a share of the love-feast, to kiss 
her and come on as it was getting late and a lot 
of riding had to be done before morning. He 
finally tore himself away from Lina, who seemed 
bound to bar her side -partner from her rightful 
share of Andy's caresses. Katrina, observing 
this as well as I did, flung herself on an old seat 
and covering her head with her apron we left her 
sobbing as if her heart would break. After 
riding nearly all night he finally succeeded in 
getting the necessary bondsmen, and about 
4 a. m, we started for Oxford. I was very tired, 
as I had been in the saddle for the better part of 
forty-eight hours, and in order to rest myself as 
well as the horse, I decided to ride in the wagon 
for a time ; so I took my seat beside the driver, 
Andrew laying on some straw in the back part. 
While my coat was laying over the back of the 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



55 



seat Andrew managed to secure one of my guns 
that happened to be in a pocket, and somewhat 
startled me by saying : 

" Fred, it would be easy for me to blow your 
brains out now, wouldn't it ?" 

I fortunately had another gun in my hip 
pocket, and, telling him it would be a pretty bad 
break for him to make, I drew it at once and 
gave him to understand that he must drop it, 
and not repeat any such performance as that 
during the remainder of our trip. It taught me 
a lesson I shall not readily forget, ' to keep my 
eye on the gun" in future. We arrived at our 
destination about two o'clock in the afternoon 
pretty well fagged out, and Andrew was held 
for further orders under heavy bonds. I will 
say in conclusion that Andrew was about the 
only Mormon whose arrest I effected who neither 
perjured himself nor attempted to deny his 
wives. He was convicted and punished accord- 
ingly. 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER VI. 

Henderson's Case — Lechery and Incest. 

There lived at one time in Oxford a man by 
the name of Henderson. He has three wives; 
his third wife lives in Oxford, his second wife 
lives in a place called Clifton, and his first wife 
lives on a ranche near the latter place. Her 
residence is known as the Rock House, from the 
fact that it is built of rocks taken from the mount- 
ains at the foot of which it is situated. Now 
this festive old party in the good time before he 
and the rest of the animals of his persuasion 
were ordered to be stirred up, was what is known 
as an Elder, or Teacher of Mormonism, and was 
quite a mark, not only on account of his piety 
but also on account of his numerous progeny. 
Indeed piety and progeny are inseparable in the 
tenets of the Mormon religion as taught by the 
followers of Brigham Young, but cut no figure 
in the belief of the " Josephites," who claim that 
Brigham Young was an usurper, and are, in fact, 
the most bitter opponents of the polygamists, 
who reciprocate the hatred. 

This particular saint was also noted as being 
an exceptionally lecherous old villain. I mention 
this in this connection as it leads up to what I 
am about to relate, and goes to show that all the 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



57 



vaunted purity of the so-called religion is nothing 
but rank hypocrisy. It is in the memory of people 
living in the neighborhood to-day that the old 
wretch has for years been guilty of such licen- 
tiousness as is unfit to be recorded in public 
print. This was known by the good Mormons 
— and there are good Mormons — but when it 
was mentioned they would say, " You should not 
condemn us all for the actions of one." Should 
you say in reply, " Very well, we won't condemn 
you, but why, knowing him to be what he is and 
which you do not attempt to deny, why is it that 
you allow him such a prominent place in the 
Church ? Why do you not excommunicate him, 
or, in other words, ' fire him bodily.' You can- 
not for a moment believe that any other commu- 
nity or denomination would affiliate with or hold 
out the hand of fellowship to such a notorious 
old reprobate as he is. You have him passing 
the sacrament to your wives and children, know- 
ing all the time just what he is." About this 
time your audience would begin to think of some- 
thing that called his attention elsewhere, and 
would invariably leave you without an answer. 
These conversations, of course, took place long 
before Uncle Sam had made up his mind to put a 
stop to polygamy, and as enough was known of 
Brother Henderson to convict him of that crime, 
a warrant was issued and placed in my hands. I 



58 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

do not lay any claim to any extraordinary moral- 
ity, yet I did want to put Brother H. in a warm, 
comfortable jail. He was one of those soft- 
talking " lah-de-dah " kind of men that are gener- 
ally too sweet to be wholesome. I went to the 
residence of his third wife, for as she was the 
youngest and best looking he was generally to 
be found there. On entering the house I talked 
to her on various topics, tickled his thirty-third 
child under the chin, and finally told Sister Hen- 
derson I would be pleased to meet Sam. Not 
seeing him round the house, I asked where he 
was, to which she replied that she did not know 
and had not seen him for some time ; in fact, if 
I had let her run on I believe she would have 
told me she never was acquainted with the gen- 
tleman. I took up the lamp, however, and, 
accompanied by the presiding "saintess," I gave 
the house a thorough search, but, failing to find 
Samuel, I bade her good evening and departed. 
This visit was the primary cause of the vindictive 
attacks made upon me by the Logan Journal 
and other Mormon sheets, and from that time on 
I determined to show no quarter, for no matter 
how civilly and politely officers tried to perform 
their unpleasant duties, they had nothing to 
expect but the revilings of the whole dirty crew. 
For a time I gave Henderson a rest, and other 
business demanding my attention, I did not think 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



59 



of him until I was informed one day by a party 
that he was seen at the Rock House with his first 
wife. Next morning about daybreak, accom- 
panied by a couple of men I had hired to go with 
me, I started for the Rock House, and arrived 
there before the inmates were up. The house 
was built with a lean-to shed, in the end of which 
was a door just far enough from the back of the 
house to admit of a bed between the door and the 
house wall. One of the parties with me being 
stationed so as to prevent any one leaving the 
front way either by door or window, I went to 
the back door and rapped. Now, as the head of 
the bed was right by the door, I expect my knock 
startled Sister H. pretty badly, for I had hardly 
hit the door more than one little tap when she 
asked me who was there. Not knowing that 
there was a bed so near the door I was a little 
surprised to receive so prompt a response. I told 
her my friends and I would like her to get up 
and make us some coffee, but she refused to get 
up. I finally told her who I was and what I 
wanted, and after telling me we ought to be 
ashamed of ourselves to be getting decent (?) 
people out of their beds at that hour in the 
morning, I confessed that I was and that in fact I 
was blushing clean back of my ears. She told 
me that I would have to go round to the front 
door, as her bed prevented the back door from 



6o 



A detective's experience 



opening. I went round accordingly, and when I 
got in she began to pour out the vials of her 
wrath in a choice lot of Billingsgate. I laugh- 
ingly told her to "lay on Macduff" while I took 
a look through the abode of virtue as embodied 
in herself. I searched up-stairs and down-stairs, 
and in my lady's chamber, all but the bed, when 
making for that very necessary article of furni- 
ture, I was astonished to find she had not been 
sleeping alone, and was still more astounded to 
discover on pulling the covers from the head of 
the pretended sleeper, the face of her own son — 
well, no, not her own son ; what relation did he 
bear to her ? He was her husband's son by the 
second wife, and was a young man about thirty 
years of age. I took a look at him, and the 
thought struck me that, as a few moments before 
I had acknowledged how ashamed I was, the least 
I could do would be to let the old woman know 
how such " decent people " as she was a speci- 
men of, appeared to me. I said to her, pointing 
over my shoulder to the room where I had left 
the son, " Do you know what decent people 
would call that ?" 

" Call what ? " she snarled out. 

"You know what ; sleeping with your hus- 
band's son." 

"It would be a good deal better for you if you 
would mind your own business," replied she. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



6l 



" If I attended strictly to it, I would take you 
with me now for incest. Before you have so 
much to say about other people's decency try 
and be decent yourself." 

Telling- one of the boys outside who knew all 
about the outfit, he laughed and said : " Oh, 
that's nothing ; that's a well-known fact. I 
could tell you a good deal worse yarns about 
that family." We failed to get Sam, but I 
learned by ocular demonstration that his outfit 
was a hard formation. 




62 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



CHAPTER VII. 

Secrets of the Far-Famed and Iniquitous "Endow- 
ment House" Laid Bare — The Veil Drawn Aside 
by an Apostate Mormon. 

What I have already written is strictly true, 
and the half has never been told. It would per- 
haps be well to introduce, before going further, 
the evidence of one who has been for the past 
twenty-two years a Mormon, and who, although 
long disgusted with their practices, was afraid to 
leave them for the reason that he knew that 
apostasy meant death, as he fully explains in the 
following extracts from a letter to me. It may 
be well to state that he is an old gentleman. 
He wishes me to give the letter to Kate Field, 
who is lecturing on Mormonism at the present 
time, and whom he hopes will go on in the good 
work until, as he expresses it, "the viper 
polygamy is crushed/' 

"Priestcraft," he says, "the dictionaries 
would define as pious fraud, but Brighamism is 
an exception ; it should be impious instead of 
pious. When we were in the old country we 
united with the Church of Christ we thought, 
but as soon as we set foot on shipboard they (the 
missionaries, as they were called and are yet) 
threw off the mask. I shall never forget one in 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 63 

1866, on the ship St. Mark. The wretch beat 
all I have come across in profanity and dishon- 
esty. Talk about secret societies ; never was 
there a more abominable one than that propa- 
gated by Brigham Young and his followers. 
The missionary I have already mentioned died 
before we got across the plains with the cholera, 
and died scoffing at the Bible, and ' hell and 
damnation ' were the last words I heard the 
wretched man say. And now about going 
through the Endowment House. Your name is 
first enrolled after showing the recommend of 
your Bishop. In the next room you are stripped 
naked ; after this men and women go together, 
the idea being that on joining the Mormon 
Church you are born again. I had a pair of 
linen garments and a whit*, shirt on, that was 
all. 

" We were then candidly told that we ought 
to be quite naked like Adam and Eve, but we were 
not so holy as they were, so we were permitted 
to go nearly naked. Some who went through 
the Endowment House when I did were drunk- 
ards, dishonest and blasphemous, and you can 
imagine what some of the poor women must 
have felt like during the ceremony. We were 
told if any wanted to go back they could do so. 
Nobody wants to go before the theater closes, 
and besides it was not safe, as we already knew 



64 



A detective's experience 



too much ; so we were told a foolish thing, put. 
ting" their hands so-and-so, as you yourself have 
seen, and calling it the sign of the Aaronic 
Priesthood." (The writer here means to convey 
that the neophytes were at this time taught the 
Mormon grip.) " You then run your thumb 
round your throat from ear to ear as being 
expressive of your willingness to have your 
throat cut should you betray the secrets of the 
Endowment House. They then take a passage 
of Scripture which means altogether another 
thing and make blasphemy of it. This is also 
done in the Endowment House, and Mormons 
make sport of the most solemn of all things, the 
crucifixion and our Saviour. 

"The Endowment garments are now put on, 
and the significance attaching to the different 
holes is explained. The heart-shaped hole 
worked in the left breast signifies that you are 
willing to have your breast cut open and your 
heart taken out should you prove unfaithful to 
your vow. The hole worked in the right breast, 
that you are willing to be stoned to death ; the 
hole across the stomach that you are willing to 
be sawed in two should you divulge any of the 
secrets learned during the ceremony ; the hole 
in the knee is emblematic of continual prayer for 
the furtherance and welfare of all that appertains 
to the Mormon religion. They have also in the 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



65 



Endowment House one who personates a sec- 
tarian preacher, and all are taught to laugh at 
other denominations. The devil is also imperson- 
ated and is made very ugly and saucy, but he 
must have a little gospel to mix the golden cup 
of fornication ; so Satan is in subjection to the 
name of Christ. 

" They are taught to pray for Brigham Young, 
now John Taylor, and are sworn to stand by 
one another and avenge the death of Joseph 
Smith, and if one is likely to apostatize they put 
him to death. 

"They swear their willingness to this. 

"No wonder they are bad citizens. 

"They expect to rule the world, and it still 
goes on. 

"The time seems to be come when secret 
things shall be proclaimed on the housetops. 
I cannot rest without something being done, and 
if I knew Kate Field's address I would tell her 
of things the world ought to know. You can 
send this to her if you like, and publish all I 
have said. 

" I am ready to swear to it. 
1 If you can do anything towards bringing 

J to justice, a man charged with murder and 

incest by papers north and south of us and no 
one seems to care, for God's sake go ahead. 



66 



A detective's experience 



Shall the blood of the victims cry aloud for 
vengeance in vain ? " 

[Note. What he means by the " Devil" in 
the above extracts, is that the Devil is person- 
ated by one of the Mormons whose task is to 
initiate proselytes into the faith.] 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



6/ 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Bishop Porter — Sanctity of Marriage From a Mor- 
mon Standpoint — Perjury Upheld. 

Having a warrant for Bishop Porter who lived 
at a place called Preston, the Marshal and a 
Deputy having- failed to arrest him, I thought I 
would give him a little of my attention. Never 
having been in his neighborhood, the lay of the 
land was ascertained after some inquiry, so 
securing the assistance of an Irishman who lived 
in the town, I proceeded to look up the Bishop. 
Pat was Irish in every sense of the word, and 
like all his compatriots had no use for Mormons. 
He was witty, as nearly all Irishmen are, and his 
sallies enlivened the trip very considerably. 
When I secured Pat's valuable assistance I had 
not fully enlightened him as to the object of our 
proposed journey, so he asked me for particu- 
lars. 

" Where are ye going? " said he. 
"Down to Preston to see if we can find Bishop 
Porter," I replied. 

"Is he a polaygamisht ? " 
"Yes. " 

"How many wives have he, bad luck to 
him ? " 



68 



A detective's experience 



"He did have several but some got away. 
He only has two now. " 

"Well, well ! " said. Pat, "thim polaygamishts 
bate the divil. What they want wid so many 
weemen is a conundhrum to me. Molly," turn- 
ing to his better half, " Oim goin' on a polayg- 
amisht hunt wid Fred to-night. What time does 
yez want to shtart out ? " 

"About ten or eleven o'clock to-night," I 
replied, "and as it is only about twenty-five 
miles, we can take it easy, and the horses will be 
fresh and can do a little running if called on. " 

"Well, all right, I'll be wid ye." 

About half-past ten I called for Pat, and hear- 
ing him talking to some one, listened outside, 
thinking it might be some of our Mormon neigh- 
bors, but I soon found that it was "Roany," his 
horse, that he was talking to. He was saddling 
up and as he tightened up the cinches he said : 
" Well, Roany, ould boy, de'ye know where 
I am goin' wid yez to-night? Ye don't, eh. 
Well, we're afther a polaygamisht, and avwe git 
widin sight av him, I don't want yez to let no 
Mormon horse git away wid yez. But whin I 
say the wurrud, I want yez to git there Ali. " 
Then he soliloquized, "Well, well, these 
Mormons is a quare lot. All they thinks about 
is weemen, and a homely lot of ould pelicans the 
osht av thim is. Av coorse, wanst in a while 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



6 9 



there's one av urn that might tempt a man to be 
a polaygamisht, but ough, ough ! her good looks 
wouldn't lasht long av Molly got a shy at her. 

I wundher av the weemen likes to have " 

But here I cut short Pat's soliloquy, and as by 
this time Roany was ready for the road, we 
started. On laughing at Pat about the long 
conversation I overheard between him and his 
horse, " Begorra," said he, " he knows more nor 
lots av Mormons I have met, and I hates to take 
him out av his warrum shtable this hour av the 
night afther polaygamishts." We jogged along, 
the mud being up to the horse's knees in some 
places, every time Roany slipped giving Pat 
fresh cause for offense against " Owld Porther," 
whom he blamed as the cause of our being out 
on such a night's ride. While giving it to "Owld 
Porther," the wives being inseparable from him 
as wives should be, they came in for a share of 
the abuse. About six miles of the journey had 
been ridden when it began a cold drizzling rain, 
and as we plodded along the trip became any- 
thing but a pleasant one. For fifteen miles there 
was but one house that we could feel sure of a 
welcome at, but not wanting to disturb them we 
passed it, and concluded to grin and bear it. We 
had to cross Bear River bridge at a point not 
far from Battle Creek Station. We soon reached 
a good road, however, and Pat's spirits rose, and 



7o 



A detective's experience 



as he was in the lead, I was surprised to hear 
him chuckling to himself, and on asking him the 
cause of his hilarity, he said: " Oim laughin' at 
the comical racket we're on." 

a What comical racket/' I asked. 

"Why, the idea of huntin' min for bein' fond 
av the weemin. Faith, an' it's a great schame 
intoirely. The way they does it. Av they can't 
support wan woman they goes an' marries two 
or three more, and thin the weemin keeps thim. 
Why don't ye thry it, Fred ?" 

I told him I had often thought about it, but 
there was one great drawback. My wife, I 
thought, was built differently from most of the 
polygamist women I had run across, and while 
just at present I was under the impression she 
was a daisy, yet I thought that she would prove 
a regular tiger-lily if I went fooling round a re- 
ligion that had polygamy mixed up in it. For 
that reason I had come to the conclusion that as 
far as I was concerned it would not be a good 
scheme. Pat laughed, and with an " Ough, 
ough, av Molly caught me bringing in another 
woman my name would not long be Pat, but 
Dinnis. Shure the weemin is wurse nor the 
min ; av they kicked, polaygamy wouldn't lasht 
long." And from my observation I think he about 
called the turn. So chatting along, we very 
soon reached Bear River. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



73 



The night had by this time become very dark, 
and as there was a drizzling rain, one could not 
see his horse's head before him. Pat was in the 
lead, but as we came to the bridge his horse shied 
and he could not get him up to it. 

" What is the matter ? " I shouted. 

" Oh, matther enough," said Pat; " d 

owld Porther, he's pulled up the bridge." 

On a closer examination we found the bridge 
was undergoing repair, and about twenty-five 
feet of the planks pulled up. To ford the river 
was impossible, and after looking at the pros 
and cons of the case we concluded to put on the 
planks lengthwise, and about three of them side 
by side, making a very shaky kind of a roadway 
high above the waters that seethed and rushed 
beneath us. It was my first experience in bridge 
building, and I feel no desire to repeat the per- 
formance, especially on a pitch-dark night and 
in a drizzling rain. The bridge being built, to 
get the horses upon it was the next hard work, 
and after trying different expedients we con- 
cluded to blindfold them and tie the bridle-rein of 
one to the tail of the other; and with Pat pulling 
and I pushing we managed to "git there AH," as 
he expressed it. And now safely crossed, we 
found that daylight was not far off, and as we 
yet had six miles to travel we lost no time in 
getting where we expected to find the Bishop. 



74 



A detective's experience 



Hoping that people who slept three in a bed 
would not be early risers, we were not very 
agreeably surprised to find that everybody was 
up in the settlement. We went down on the 
river bottom to where we heard he was building 
a shanty for Mrs. Porter No. 2, expecting to 
find him camped there. We were, however, dis- 
appointed, and finding no signs of him, we pro- 
ceeded to the house of his second wife's father, 
whose name was Schaeffer. He is an old time 
Mormon — I believe a native-born American — 
whose personal appearance and expression would 
not indicate him to be the ignorant fanatic he is. 
After looking through stack-yards, house and 
every nook liable to be utilized as a hiding-place, 
Mrs. Schaeffer began a long harangue about 
the persecution the Saints were called on to 
endure, and invoked the aid of her patron Saint 
(I forget whether his name was Old Nick or 
not) to frustrate the efforts being made by the 
United States Government to destroy polygamy. 
She said she knew it was right, and asked me if 
I was not afraid God would punish me for the 
part I was taking in this persecution. I asked 
her if she thought the Lord was on her side, and 
she said yes. 

"Then why do not polygamists stand pat, 
and leave the issue with Him, instead of scam- 



AMONG THE MORMONS 



75 



pering off like prairie dogs and hiding in holes 
or out in the sage brush? " 

She stumbled round for a moment without 
replying, finally saying: " Our President has 
ordered us to avoid arrest." 

When asked if she believed in polygamy, she 
replied very emphatically: 

" I does; and hope that it will spread, and I 
knows it will." 

" You are from England, are you not? " I 
asked. 

" Yes," said she; "and proud of it." 

" Faith an' its not long owld Porther wud be 
in England or Ireland ayther av he war a polay- 
gamisht, before he'd be safe in some stout 
prezon," interrupted Pat, who had been standing 
by with a mingled look of disgust and amuse- 
ment on his countenance. 

"Let's go; such women make one weary," 
said I, and mounting our horses, we started 
down the road. 

By this time horsemen were flying in all direc- 
tions to warn polygamists that we were there, 
and seeing one making for a house that had 
been described to me as a probable hiding-place 
for Bishop Porter, we started for it, taking a 
roundabout direction. As we were divided from 
it by several gulches, we concluded to follow the 
bank of the river, and found it to be the little 



7 6 



A detective's experience 



ranch of a fresh arrival from England; that is, 
he had been out a couple of years, and I learned 
he was from " Lunnon," as he called it. When 
we told him we had an idea that Porter was 
there he informed us that he was not. 

"'E isn't 'ere," said he, " and I 'asn't seed 
him for some days. 

"That's the house he is building over there, is 
it not? " I asked. 

" Yes," said he. 

" He was working there yesterday, was he 
not? " 

" I doesn't know." 

" Let up on this lying, It doesn't make any 
difference to us if you saw him yesterday or last 
month. That boy we passed up in the gulch 
herding sheep told us he was working on the 
house yesterday, and had dinner with you. So 
don't lie any more until you find a spot a lie will 
fit in better than the truth. You are a Mormon 
teacher, I heard? " 

" I is,", he replied. 

" You believe in polygamy, do you? " 

" I does believe in perlig'my, and think as ow 
the Lord in 'is hown good time will make our 
religion the only religion on the face of the 
hearth." 

"Where do you get your belief that polygamy 
is rigmV* How do you know it?" 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 77 

"I knows hit just cos I knows hit." 

Pat had returned by this time, having found 
no sign of the Bishop anywhere. The cockney 
seemed to think I was good-natured, and being 
willing to talk about his religion, we chatted 
quite pleasantly for a time, his wife joining in 
the conversation. Like a good and faithful 
teacher, he tried to convince me of the error of 
my ways, and to lead me into the right path. 
I finally parted with him, and requested him to 
drop me a card when he took another wife. 

As we were tired out we rode down the river 
to a friend of mine, and after we had put up the 
horses and got some much-needed refreshment 
for ourselves, we took a good rest. Toward 
evening we rode to another settlement about 
fifteen miles distant. Here we dropped onto 
an old Elder who was the husband of three 
women, and father of about twenty-two children. 
We took him with but little bother, and I gave 
up the chase after Porter for some time. One 
day, however, on returning from a trip to Mink 
Creek, I heard that Porter had been seen in the 
vicinity ; so I determined to give him a scare if 
nothing else. I arrived at his village about six 
o'clock one Sunday evening and found that he 
was in the neighborhood. I knew but one Gen- 
tile whom I could confide in in the whole set- 
tlement, but owing to the fact that his ranche 



78 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

was isolated, and as he was afraid the Mormons 
would take revenge on his property should he 
be found to be mixed up in Porter's arrest, I 
did not press him to take an active part. I 
however, coaxed him to go up and reconnoitre, 
which he did. He even went to the meeting- 
house where the Bishop was holding forth that 
night, and on his return gave me a synopsis of 
his discourse. He told the brethren and sisters 
how cunning he was, and exulted over the 
manner in which, as he claimed, he had eluded 
me the day previous up in the Mink Creek 
country, and how he knew the Lord was on his 
side and would keep him out of the snares of 
those who were trying to capture him for living 
up to his religion. He prayed that all should 
hold to their faith and that God would smile on 
them and deliver them out of the hands of their 
enemies. We had a good laugh as my friend, 
who was somewhat of a mimic, delivered 
Porter's sermon to me, and as we thought how 
soon, if I had luck, he would change his tune. 
It being late when he got through I rolled up in 
my saddle-blankets and had a nap of some four 
or five hours. About three o'clock in the morn- 
ing I saddled up and struck out for the Bishop's 
residence. It was a little house containing three 
rooms, which were but scantily furnished. As it 
was only three miles off I reached there in half 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



79 



an hour, and having been deceived so often I 
decided in this case to resort to some of the cun- 
ning practiced by the Mormons, and fight them 
with their own weapons, using a little deception 
where it would do the most good. I tied my 
horse to the fence and rapped at the door and a 
voice asked from within " who is there ? " 

" Is the Bishop in ? " I whispered. 

" No, " was the reply, in a woman's voice. 

" If he is, said I, " tell him to get away as 
soon as possible for the Deputy Marshal is after 
him." 

" Who are you ? " was the next question that 
came from within. 

" I have a letter from Brother Nash to Bishop 
Porter, and was told to deliver it to him in 
person." 

There was a side door to the house which I 
managed to keep my eye on during the conver- 
sation, thus preventing the possibility of Porter's 
escape, should he be in hiding there, without at 
least thanking me for the timely warning I had 
given him of his threatened danger. A woman 
had by this time opened the front door, and was 
taking stock of me as I was peering round the 
corner. I saw that, in order to ward off sus- 
picion, I would have to prevaricate as fast as they 
could ; and so, when asked for the letter by the 
woman, I told her the party who had entrusted 



8o 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



it to me had strictly enjoined me to deliver it 
into the hands of the Bishop, and no one else. 
She said, "He is not here. He is up at Brother 
Swan's. " When I asked her where he lived she 
pointed his residence out to me. It was on the 
foothills, about three miles off, and barely dis- 
cernible from where we stood. Knowing that no 
one could get there to alarm Porter sooner than 
I could, I concluded to make assurance doubly 
sure by searching these premises ; so, after I dis- 
closed to her my true identity, I proceeded to do 
so. I apologized to the lady for my prevarica- 
tion, and explained that it was partly due to the 
climate, and partly from a desire on my part to 
conform to the rules of society as I found it in 
Preston, and I expressed a hope that she would 
pardon me. I was now confronted by her son, 
a young man about twenty years of age, who, 
when he saw that I was trying to make myself 
agreeable, mistook my motive ; so his little heart 
began to swell, and he strutted round much in 
the way that a self-important Bantam rooster 

would, saying, he would be d d if I could do 

as I wanted while he was there. Looking at 
him a moment to see if he meant it, I said in a 
pious kind of a way, " We will read for our 
instruction a portion of the chapter I hold in my 
hand, and I think we will be able to find a text 
that applies to this case." But the young man, 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



81 



as my voice rose in soft and plaintive cadence, 
began to get more obstreperous, so thinking he 
had got about far enough I replaced the warrant 
in my pocket, and, producing a pair of handcuffs, 
said, " Now, I have tried to act the gentleman so 
far, for the sake of the lady here, who is one of 
your numerous mothers, but if you attempt to 
obstruct me any further I'll put these on you and 
take you with me." He very quickly cooled 
down on seeing the bracelets, so without any 
further ceremony I proceeded to search the 
domicile, and found the lady had told me the 
truth regarding the Bishop's absence. I found 
another wife sick in bed with an infant. After 
expressing my regret at the necessity of dis- 
turbing her, I read the subpoena to her, and told 
her that if the Bishop could get bonds there 
would be no need of her going to Oxford. I 
then left the place, and mounting my horse I 
gave him the reins, and very shortly afterwards 
found myself at Brother Swan's ranche. As I 
approached I found there were two houses on 
the ranche, one on each side of a road which led 
through his property. I rode up to the house 
on the left-hand side, and through the open door 
I saw Swan seated at the breakfast-table with a 
portion of his family. Without dismounting, I 
bid him good-morning and informed him that I 
had a letter for Bishop Porter, and asked him if 
he would be kind enough to hand it to him. He 



82 



A detective's experience 



eyed me suspiciously, and asked me who the 
letter was from. I told him the same story . I 
had previously entertained Mrs. Porter No. I 
with, adding that she had informed me that the 
Bishop was here. I suggested that he had better 
skip out at once, and pulling a document out of 
my pocket I reached it over towards him, but 
immediately drew it back, again saying, " By the 
way, I was to deliver this to him in person." 

il All right," said he, "git down off your 'orse, 
and I'll show you where t' Bishop is." 

I dismounted and tied my horse to the fence, 
Swan remarking: " Pity as ow t'd d Mar- 
shals wouldn't all break ther d d necks run- 
ning round t' country 'tending to other people's 
business. Wot's 'is name as is after 'im now? 99 

" He is from Franklin," said I in reply. 

" Well 'e'll 'av a good time afindin' of 'im, 
please God ; fur ye sees we lives on a 'ill 'ere 
an' I allers tell t'Bishop t'come up 'ere wen e's 
'ard run, as we can see everythink as goes on in 
the walley, and wen we sees any commotion 
down theer it isn't very far down to the willers 
in yon gulch," (indicating the direction of the 
hiding-place). Chuckling to himself he solilo- 
quized : "They 'as to git up werry early wen 

they gets a'ead of Brother Swan, d n urn ! " 

Just at this moment he took a look round the 
valley beneath and his eyes fairly bulged out 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



33 



with excitement at what he saw, and I confess I 
was startled when I observed horsemen flying 
round in all directions ; and both he and I, 
though for different reasons, thought it well that 
Porter should be seen at once. So, pointing to 
the door of the house across the road, he said: 
"t'Bishop is right in theer." I went into the 
room and found the Bishop getting out of bed 
and sleepily rubbing his eyes. Without any 
parley I proceeded to tell him I had a warrant 
for his arrest, but before I could finish the sen- 
tence I had commenced, he broke in with, (i Oh, 
I know what you have, Fred." 

" How do you know me ? " I asked. 

" I saw you when you were in a different and 
a better business," replied he. 

" I don't know about its being better, 
Bishop," said I; " that I am not in the same 
business now that I was when you first saw me, 
is because you fellows wanted the earth and the 
fullness thereof, and did not want a man who dif- 
fered from you to even live among you. How- 
ever, get up and dress now, and while you are 
getting ready I'll read you this." 

Just as I began reading, Swan stuck his head 
in the door and informed the Bishop that he had 
better light out as he could see horsemen 
approaching, and he was sure they were the 
Deputy Marshals I had informed him of. "No, 



84 



A detective's experience 



Brother Swan, this is Fred Bennett/' said the 
Bishop good-naturedly. He stole a march on 
us this time." 

" Yes," said I, laughing, "this is one time that 
you did not see all that was going on down in 
the valley." His lips fell and he took it differ- 
ently from the Bishop, being evidently chagrined 
that he had been caught napping. This, 
coupled with the fact that he had given the 
whole business away to me, made him feel 
pretty badly broken up, and a scowl spread over 
his countenance that I thought boded me no 
good in case the approaching horsemen were 
determined on effecting the rescue of their 
Bishop. 

"Brother Swan," said I, "in case those fel- 
lows attempt to down me, here are a couple of 
good six-shooters and I come pretty near know- 
ing how to handle them. The first bad break 
they make some one is going to get hurt, and I 
intend to take good care of yours truly." Turn- 
ing to Porter, I continued: " Bishop, you might 
just as well know that one of these guns will be 
apt to go off in very close proximity to you. A 
word to the wise is sufficient. You tell these 
' yaps ' if they make any bad breaks that before 
I will be baulked you are going to get hurt. 
They have made their boast that no one has 
been arrested in Preston, and that they propose 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



85 



that no one shall. Now you know just what to 
expect." 

"All right, Fred," said he, "I will stop any 
attempt at interference on their part." 

" Now, if you are ready, let us go," said I. 

When we got out of the house I asked him if 
he had a horse there, and finding that he had, 
we went out to the corral and he caught and 
saddled him up. We then bid Brother Swan 
good-by with the injunction to watch the valley 
closer in future, and expressing my intention of 
coming in until I had got all the Polygs., we left. 
The party Swan had seen riding toward the 
ranche had evidently thought better of it, as they 
had turned into a house on the road, and as we 
passed we were simply greeted by scowling 
faces, all of which I appropriated to myself, as 
they were evidently meant for me. 

On our road down, the Bishop and I had a 
long talk, and he asked me what I thought he 
had better do. I told him that his case did not 
make a particle of difference to me; that his 
guilt or innocence cut no figure, and I thought 
his best plan was to waive the preliminary exam- 
ination, and give bond for his appearance in the 
United States Court at Blackfoot. His better 
nature was in the ascendant, and he said: 

" Oh, as far as having two wives is concerned, 



86 



A detective's experience 



I don't deny it. My religion teaches me it is 
right, and I don't propose to go back on them." 

" Well/' said I, "you had better hustle round 
and get a couple of bondsmen, and I will go with 
you wherever you think you can find them." 

We soon reached his residence, where we had 
breakfast, after which I accompanied him over 
to a party who kept a store, and was also acting 
postmaster at Preston. His establishment was 
not much larger than a good-sized packing-case, 
and while Porter went in to interview the party, 
I stood outside waiting for him, and could hear 
all the conversation. On learning the Bishop's 
errand, the proprietor broke out with: 

" Arrested! Why in h 1 didn't you shoot 

the d d Marshal! I'd like to see him come 

around after me. Where is he?" 

" Right here!" said I as I entered the door 
with a gun in my hand. " Throw up your hands 
if you want to say anything to me." 

He threw his hands up, and I made him keep 
them there until I told him a piece of my mind 
— that it was just such curs as he was that Were 
making trouble for the Mormons. He stam- 
mered out that he didn't mean anything. 

" You're a dandy postmaster, you are," said I. 
" Uncle Sam ought to be proud of you. I guess 
I will send him your address. Bosworth is your 
name, is it not? and you live in Preston. If 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



8 9 



ever you feel like taking a shot at me, drop me 
a card." 

After leaving his place, we finally succeeded 
in getting a couple of bondsmen, who went with 
us to Oxford for the purpose of bailing him out. 
The Commissioner was up north when we 
arrived, and I had Porter in my custody for three 
days, during which time I had ample opportunity 
for conversing with him, and from the kindly 
and affectionate manner in which he referred to 
all his wives and families, I could not conceive 
of such an apparently kind husband and father 
acting towards them as he subsequently did. It 
was beyond belief that any church had sufficient 
power to make an intelligent American citizen 
get up in a crowded court-room and not only 
perjure himself, but blacken and villify the poor 
woman (one of his wives) who at that moment 
lay on a bed of sickness at home. The hearts of 
more than one of that audience grew sick, for 
they knew the peculiar circumstances of the 
case, and how the unfortunate girl had only a 
few days before buried her only child, and was 
still mourning her loss. To us unregenerate 
Gentiles it seemed nothing less than brutal that 
she should be publicly branded as a harlot, and 
her dead infant as a bastard — and all this by the 
man of all others to whom she might expect to 



90 



A detective's experience 



look as the natural defender and champion of 
her good name. 

One of the worst features of this case was that 
the father of the poor girl testified against his 
own daughter in much the same manner that 
Porter had done. He was very much averse to 
appearing at all, and it was with great difficulty 
that I succeeded in serving him with the neces- 
sary subpoena. When I entered his home for 
that purpose, he swore I should not read it, and 
on my persisting in doing so he jumped for a 
rifle which hung in a rack on the wall. I had a 
double-action " persuader" handy, and drawing 
it on him, I told him if he made any more moves 
for the gun I would "put out his light"; that I 
was there on business, and it would stand him 
in hand to pay strict attention to what I had to 
read. After considerable opposition from him 
and his family, I finally managed to serve it. 

" Now," said I, "might I ask why you made 
such a fuss about this ? " 

" I don't want to appear agin Porter," he 
answered. 

"If the Mormon religion is right, and the 
Lord will protect you all, as Porter claimed some 
few days ago, what have you to fear? Of course, 
all you have to say will not make any difference, 
as Porter don't deny that your daughter is his 
wife." 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



91 



" He can't deny it," said he. 

"You better wait till you git in court before 
you begin a talkin'," interposed his wife as she 
cast a warning look at him. 

I was about as tired of them as they were of 
me, and so I left, seeing nothing more of them 
until I met them a few days afterward in the 
court-room at Blackfoot. On the trial both the 
husband and father of the sick woman I have re- 
ferred to, testified under oath that she was an 
abandoned woman, and that her dead child was 
the fruit of illicit love. Porter was found guilty 
and sent to join the colony of Saints already 
settled behind the bars of Boise City Peniten- 
tiary. 



92 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER IX. 

Frightened Mormons — The Animals Stirred Up. 

The fanatical horde were beginning to 
find that the government was in earnest, and as 
Utah polygamists as well as those of Idaho and 
Arizona were being stirred up, the country was 
filled with fugitives from justice. United States 
officials of all kinds were looked on with especial 
disfavor. Every move was watched, and we 
encountered vindictive looks on every side. Many 
Mormons who hitherto had been afraid to come 
out and separate themselves from the Church, 
fell away and apostatized. Mormon newspapers 
were filled with lying squibs, in which I, of 
course, came in for a liberal share of abuse. I 
was warned by my apostate and Gentile neigh- 
bors to travel well armed, as they had heard 
many muttered threats regarding me, and well 
knew what was possible among a people who 
were nothing if not fanatical. I never could 
think of them as anything but rank cowards, and 
I continued making arrests as before. The 
monotony was occasionally relieved by some 
spiteful move on the part of the Mormons. One 
night a house I owned down on the ranche 
was partially destroyed, but as I could not bring 
it home to any particular persons, nothing was 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



93 



done about it. A gentleman by the name of 
Wright, at Franklin, had a great many rods of 
his wire fences cut down, and his cattle driven 
off into the mountains, entailing a great deal of 
expense and trouble upon the victim of the out- 
rage, which he could ill afford to bear. 

In several cases growing crops belonging to 
outspoken Gentiles were partially destroyed, and 
from the town of Franklin alone they succeeded 
in driving away nearly all the Gentile residents 
to other fields and pastures new. They did not 
always stop at petty annoyances, as in the case 

of Jim W , near Franklin, whose call was so 

close that the bullet which penetrated his cloth- 
ing is still kept as a souvenir and unpleasant 
reminder of his sojourn in the realms of John 
Taylor. 

As this narrative only treats of Mormons with 
whom I came in contact, good, bad or indifferent, 
I have abstained from giving anything but facts 
that can be easily verified, while all that is bad 
in the social system can be found among them, 
and many crimes can be laid at their door, yet 
truth compels me to admit that I have met many 
whom it was a pleasure to know. There are 
those to be found among them who are enlight- 
ened and well educated ; as good and shrewd 
business men can be met with in Mormondom as 
anywhere. Their world renowned "Zions' Co- 



94 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



operative Institution " is evidence that there are 
business men of a very high order at the head of 
the Church ; while to succeed in keeping a whole 
people in a willing bondage, is proof sufficient 
that the administrative and executive capacity of 
the leaders is far above mediocrity. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



95 



CHAPTER X. 

A Gentile Polygamist — Garrison , a " Native of 
Virginia , Sah ! " 

As the pages already written may seem to bear 
down too hard on the Mormons, we will give 
them a rest and switch off, so to speak, onto 
one of them who claimed to be a Gentile, in 
order that he might save his bacon in the event 
of trouble. He let no opportunity pass to run 
down Mormons ; and while living in polygamy 
himself, he thought that the fact that he pro- 
fessed to be down on the Mormons and their 
institutions would be a feather in his cap with 
the Federal authorities, and would save him 
from arrest. 

He was a native of Virginia, " sah, " and his 
name was Garrison. 

While he was unable to get to the top of the 
Mormon tree and hold the office of Bishop, 
which his heart yearned for with an exceeding 
great yearning, he contented himself with apos- 
tatizing to a certain extent. He let such of the 
tenets of Mormonism as didn't suit him go by 
the board, but clove to that which he thought 
was good and took to himself three wives. Thus 
Brother Garrison, while repudiated by the Mor- 
mons as a traitor and apostate, was not long in 



9 6 



A detective's experience 



the enjoyment of his triple blessedness before 
some of the "goody-good" brethren began to 
hint murmuringly that if a man only claimed to 
be a Gentile he could marry half a dozen 
women if he wanted to. Happening to be in 
Franklin one day several "yaps" (Mormon 
hoodlums) strolled into a store where I was sit- 
ting, and after sizing me up went outside again 
for the apparent purpose of comparing notes. 
By and by one big fellow came in with three or 
four others and seemed to have been elected as 
their spokesman. He chipped into the conver- 
sation my friends and I were engaged in, and, 
after gazing pensively at me for a moment, he 
broke out with : 

"What did you say your name was ?" 

"What did I say my name was?" I drawled 
out. "I did not say anything about my name. 
What is it to you what my name is, anyhow ? " 

"Oh, nothing," he replied, "on'y some of the 
boys said as how you was Fred Bennett." 

"Well, supposing I am — what of it?" 

" Oh, nothin', on'y I wanted to have a look at 
ye, kase I've heard as how vou was the meanest 
man in Idaho." 

I laughed and replied: "You can't put your 
finger on a mean act of mine unless you call 
arresting men of your stripe meanness. Then 
if that's so I'm mean, and propose to stay mean 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



97 



till we get this county so white men can live in 
it. 

" There's one law for Mormons and one law 
for Gentiles," replied he. 

"No," said I, "if you can show me a breach 
of the law, Jew or Gentile will get the same deal 
the Mormons get." 

" Then why don't you go and arrest Gar- 
rison ? " 

"Who is Garrison?" I inquired. 

"Why, he lives up on the bench about five 
miles from hyar, and hez three wives," they all 
chimed in. 

I got all the particulars of Garrison's case, the 
maiden names of his wives and of other witnesses ; 
and I soon found that Brother Garrison did not 
lack for enemies whatever else he might lack. I 
told the gentle "yaps" that I would endeavor to 
prove to them that the law in his case was just 
as binding as in the case of Nash or any other 
Polyg. already arrested, I went to Oxford 
shortly afterward, and securing a warrant for 
Garrison, I started after him and arrived at his 
ranche late one afternoon. I had an accurate 
description of him and had no trouble in finding 
him. He was working a sulky plow when I first 
saw him; and as I came up and greeted him 
with, " How do you do, Brother Garrison ? " he 
hesitated a moment before replying, and evi- 



9 8 



A detective's experience 



dently took me to be a traveling agent of some 
kind. He anticipated my supposed business by 
saying, " I don't need any trees." 

" Don't need any trees? Who said anything 
about trees ?" said I. 

" Why, bean't you a tree peddler?" 

" No, I am round distributing tracts ; and here, 
said I, handing the warrant to him, " is one that 
applies directly to you. " 

He took it, and glancing at it, said quietly, 
" you've made a mistake this time, Mr. What's- 
your-name." 

I told him my name, and said, " I am very 
glad, Mr. Garrison, for your sake, that a mistake 
has been made." 

" Oh, that's all right ; let's go to the house," 
he said, as he got down off the olow and began 
unhitching. 

I shouted out to the party who had driven me 
out how to get down the lane to the house, and 
as it was getting along toward evening, at the 
earnest solicitation of Brother Garrison, we put 
the team up for the night and made arrange- 
ments to stay till morning. On going into the 
house we found no lack of comfort, and at sup- 
per plenty to eat and a good-looking woman to 
grace the head of the table — Mrs. Garrison No. 
3, as I found out afterward. We talked on 
various topics and I found that Brother Garrison 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



had had quite a large experience in the way of 
religion ; he had been a Methodist preacher in 
Virginia for several years ; had, after leaving the 
Methodist church, sampled two or three other 
religions, finally coming out to Utah and joining 
the Mormons. His former religious experience 
did not seem to be appreciated here, however, 
as he seemed to think it should be ; at least, I 
was led to infer so from little " cuss words" the 
worthy ci-devant preacher let fall from time to 
time when talking about Mormonism. I could 
not refrain from taking stock of Mrs. Garrison, 
and wondering how a woman must feel tied to a 
man that hopped and skipped from one religion 
to another, and finally brought up at a religion 
that degraded her to the level of an animal. As 
she hung on every sentence that came from the 
mouth of her husband and very evidently thought 
him eloquence personified, I came to the conclu- 
sion that the pair were a little below par. I sub- 
sequently found that the lady had run away from 
Virginia with Garrison and that he had left an 
estimable wife back there. 

After breakfast next morning Brother Garrison 
very kindly directed me to where I would find 
the woman who was known as Mrs. Garrison 
No. 3 by the outside world, but whom he claimed 
to know as Emma Taylor. So leaving the 
driver I went out, and jumping on a horse, I rode 



100 



A detective's experience 



over to where she was, a distance of about three 
miles. On knocking at the door it was opened 
by a young woman who was homely enough to 
stop a clock. She had an infant in her arms. I 
smilingly said, " Good-morning, Mrs. Garrison, " 
and as she admitted her identity I subpoenaed 
her and returned to her husband's other house, 
where I found him getting his team ready. 
Having no further use for the team that brought 
me over, it returned to town, and Garrison and I 
went skirmishing around to look after bondsmen. 
As we drove along I could not help thinking it 
funny how a man so hard to please in a religion 
as friend Garrison seemed to be, was willing to 
take chances of a prison for such a burlesque on 
beauty as I had left in the other house. We 
were at the moment lacking a subject to talk on, 
so I ventured to remark, " A handsome woman 
Miss Taylor is. " Garrison, turning around, 
looked at me with a sardonic smile and said, 
" Don't add more sins to those you have already 
committed to-day by lying." I laughed and 
changed the subject. 

It was rather difficult for him to find men who 
were willing to go on his bonds, as he was a 
very bad Mormon and not a very good Gentile. 
He finally succeeded in getting a couple, and in 
due course of law he was sent to keep company 
with the band of saints and sinners at Boise 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



IOI 



City. I saw no more of him for some time, but 
heard of him frequently and was told that he had 
been taken back again into full fellowship in the 
Mormon Church. 



102 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER XL 

Trip to Paris ( the Mormon Stronghold of Idaho ) as 
Canvasman with Cushing's Circus. 

As polygamists within forty miles of Oxford 
were now beginning to take greater precautions 
than ever to avoid arrest, many of them left that 
part of the country entirely, some of them going 
down to Arizona, while others scattered through 
ihe back settlements of Utah ; others again going 
to Montana and Northern Idaho, and the eastern 
part of Idaho received its full quota of fugitives. 
Now a slight description of the headquarters of 
polygamy in Idaho may be of interest. The very 
core of polygamy in this Territory is at a place 
called Paris. Here the brains of the party may 
be found, and so nicely situated is it, that for a 
stranger to get in unnoticed is well nigh impos- 
sible. From Franklin to Paris there is a trail 
across the "Wasatch Range," or what is com- 
monly called the " Bear River Range" of mount- 
ains, and this can only be traveled for a short 
time in the summer,as the snow falls here eight or 
ten months in the year, that is, on parts of the 
trail high up in the mountains. 

A telegraph line runs from Paris to Franklin, 
controlled entirely by Mormons, and is com- 
monly called the "clothes line " It is in constant 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



103 



use as a means of warning to the people of Paris, 
and such fugitives as make it a city of refuge. 
This delectable spot is surrounded with spies in 
every direction, keeping track of any movement 
of the United States officers which might tend to 
threaten the safety of polygamists in that neigh- 
borhood ; every train on the Oregon Short Line 
is watched, from McCammon to Granger ; they 
have telephone connection to Montpelier in their 
own hands ; the little hamlets scattered to the 
north and south of Paris are inhabited by a 
strictly Mormon population, and so thickly set- 
tled is this section that any one traveling through 
these numerous villages would receive the im- 
pression that he was driving up or down a long, 
irregular street. When it is taken into considera- 
tion that every one of these houses is occupied 
by fanatics who are either law-breakers them- 
selves, or are sworn to aid and abet those who 
are living in open and defiant hostility to the 
laws of the land that has done so much for them, 
it will be readily seen how impossible it is for a 
stranger to get to their strongholds unobserved. 
If the inhabitants do not wish to be interviewed, 
there is no necessity for it, as they have gener- 
ally all the way from two to ten hours' warning 
of danger, and are thus given ample time and 
opportunity for hiding or escape. 

In addition to Paris, there is situated over the 



104 A detective's experience 



mountains, about fifty miles back of Montpelier, 
a valley known as Salt River Valley. It is a 
good cattle country, and a veritable hunter's 
paradise, abounding in game of all kinds, in- 
cluding bear, moose, elk, polygamists and other 
small game ; while the river teems with fish, such 
as trout, mountain herring, etc., etc. Here 
polygamy flourishes like a green bay tree, and 
the polygamist sits secure in the shadow of his 
wives' petticoats, none daring to "make him 
afraid." To attempt to follow him to this safe 
retreat is useless, as any effort in that direction 
would, for the greater part of the year, have to 
be made on snowshoes ; and the difficulty is 
increased by the fact that the inhabitants are out- 
lawed, and naturally take every possible precau- 
tion to insure the safety of the "gang." 

One can hardly conceive of a prettier or more 
picturesque country than that surrounding Paris, 
and a better stock country it would be hard to 
find anywhere. Nature seems to have been 
graciously inclined to the Mormons, and to have 
taken special pains to make everything beautiful 
around them here. The only drawbacks that 
suggested themselves to me were the long 
winters and the canting hypocrites who com- 
prised the population of this Western Eden. 
This veritable gem of scenery presents itself to 
my mind's eye like a grand panorama. Bear 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



IOS 



River heads up near Paris, and from its source 
to where it empties itself into the great Salt 
Lake at Corinne, Utah, it runs through and 
waters some of the most beautiful and fertile val* 
leys in America — valleys that the Mormons 
prate about making " blossom as the rose." 
Small thanks to them when Nature has already 
done so much. When I look back to other 
places in Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, Colo- 
rado, Nevada and other States, where the grit 
and vim of native-born and adopted Americans 
have overcome far greater obstacles than those 
the Mormons are always preaching about, it 
makes me feel that to have a pack of such whin - 
ing curs occupying and keeping back a country, 
that owing to them is fifty years behind the age, 
any longer is a gross injustice to millions of 
good citizens in the crowded cities of our land. 
The least that could be done would be to so 
effectually squelch them, that to posterity they 
would be nothing more than a dark memory of 
the past, as negro slavery is to the younger 
members of this generation. My language may 
seem severe, but if my readers could but sit 
and listen to the tales I have heard, and see 
even what I have seen, it would give them but a 
faint idea of the crimes that have been perpe- 
trated here in the name of religion. What must 
have been the misery of poor misguided people, 



106 A DETECTIVE'S experience 

who in very many cases thought they had found 
a means of grace, and being sincere were led to 
bear trials and hardships ; to leave all and pin 
their faith to what they supposed was a heaven- 
born religion ? What must have been their feel- 
ings, think you, when they found themselves 
practically shut out from the world with no 
avenue of escape ; and being thus made com- 
pulsory and unwilling witnesses of crimes that 
will never be known until that last great day 
when the books shall be opened. There are 
numbers of men and women in Utah and Idaho 
to-day who could testify to occurrences of which 
they were eye-witnesses, that would not be 
believed by the outside world. Some of them 
unfit for print. But all this has nothing to do 
with Paris and how I got into it, nor in fact how 
I got out of it. There being a stringency in the 
Polyg. market, it was determined that by hook 
or by crook we should throw a line into Bear 
Lake (County), and see if we could catch any- 
thing, there being several big Mormon fish there 
that would look* well served up in good shape at 
the next term of court. As there was a circus 
about to take that route, I concluded to go with 
it in some capacity so as to get there unob- 
served. As I mentally pictured to myself the 
dismay of the Saints, should I succeed in bring- 
ing them down one after the other to take part 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



107 



in the performance I was preparing, I had many 
a quiet chuckle to myself. If they had been any 
other kind of criminals I would not have taken 
the same enjoyment out of catching them ; but 
having an innate antipathy to polygamy I could 
not help feeling more zealous in this part of my 
official duties than in almost any other business 
I had to attend to. When the Marshal came 
down I unfolded my scheme to him, and we laid 
our plans accordingly, forgetting for a time the 
advice given by some one that before cooking a 
hare you must always catch him. We began 
cooking our Polygs. before the judicial fire, and 
basting them in the most-approved fashion, we 
had several of them done to a turn, in our minds, 
when we both suddenly awoke to the fact that 
we had not yet caught our fish. So after look- 
ing over the pros and cons, the Marshal found 
he was acquainted with the manager of the 
"Colossal Aggregation" or circus, and would 
fix it so " Terence could jine the gang" without 
suspicion as to who I was. I happened to be 
driving round the track, where the circus was, 
in a sulky, and I found out the manager and told 
him I wished he would give me a pointer what 
wagon to ride out of town on. I asked him to 
fix it so that I could drop into some niche I 
would be apt to fit, without leading to too many 
questions, as I was well known by the people at 



108 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

the first two stands where the circus was to 
exhibit, and it would spoil everything if I was 
recognized. On the other hand, if I kept out of 
sight the boss canvasman might give me the 
G. B. when I came to the front after all the work 
was done. He said he would fix that all right. 
I told him that while there was nothing actually 
disgraceful about hard work, yet as I had been 
originally intended as a parlor ornament I knew 
very little about how to do it. And so laughing 
and chatting we soon arranged that I was to 
ride on the band-wagon. I procured a small 
decoction of a weed or plant called " Old Rye/' 
with which I intended to walk into the affections 
of "Three-fingered Mike," the driver of the 
aforesaid band-wagon. We were to have started 
about day-break but were delayed, and I was 
afraid some of my neighbors might recognize 
me, though I had dressed myself in togs suita- 
ble to the high position I was to temporarily 
occupy. We finally rolled out of town about 
seven o'clock in the morning, and as the crisp 
cool weather of that season of the year was 
enough to brace up the spirits of the most con- 
firmed hypochondriac we were all in the best of 
humor. The vehicle I was perched on was a 
large, roomy circus band-wagon, and the back 
part of it was occupied by "dot leedle German 
band," the members of which were fresh arrivals 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



109 



from the Vaterland, and they kept gabbling 
away as we journeyed in a language entirely 
unintelligible to me. 

Everything went as merry as a marriage bell, 
and as we drove along, and the sun shone 
brighter and brighter, we felt that it was a regu- 
lar picnic, while Mike would tickle the leaders 
with his long lash, in pure exuberance of spirits. 
Here we wind round the sides of a grand old 
mountain, startling a covey of prairie chickens, 
that go whirring away a few yards and light 
again, showing by their lack of fear that they 
expect no harm from such a jolly crew. Here 
we go down a long winding dug-way, soon strik- 
ing a little valley, with a stream clear as crystal 
meandering through it, from which we start, a 
couple of deer, which leap along, and stop every 
few jumps to turn round and gaze at us. Hav- 
ing arrived at a nice place to water the horses, 
Mike, and I as his supernumerary, proceeded to 
do so. After the horses have been attended to, 
Mike suggests that it is rather a long while 
between drinks, so producing the bottle, I hand 
it to him. Muttering, " here's howdy," he wraps 
his lips round the neck of it, and in the ardor of 
his embrace nearly strangles the life out of it, 
and hands it back to me tenderly, with the hope 
that it can be replenished in Gentile Valley, 
which is about twelve miles further on. I tell him 



no 



A detective's experience 



I doubt it, but venture to remark that as long as 
such weather as this lasts we won't need any- 
thing to keep our spirits up. By this time 
everything is set, and away we roll again, soon 
striking the " Cottonwood Divide." Here, 
encountering a long, steep climb, we all get out 
and walk, leaving Mike alone in his glory to 
guide the horses. After reaching the top of the 
divide we have about three miles of good roads, 
and soon come to what is known as the Rocky 
Pass. This is a short rift in the mountain, with 
steep, jagged sides towering high above us, sug- 
gesting the idea that the passage had been 
blasted out of the mountain. The natural walls 
bounding the pass on either side are rugged and 
uneven, and the grand scene leaves an impres- 
sion on the mind that cannot easily be effaced. 

As we emerge from the Rocky Pass, we hear 
the music of Cottonwood Creek, as it glides 
along through Cottonwood Valley to empty itself 
a couple of miles further on into Bear River. 
The road follows down the side of the creek for 
some distance, to the ford, and as we pursue our 
way, we pass the ranche of "Old Man Walton," 
a fine old Mormon gentleman, "one of the olden 
time." After fording the creek, the road winds 
to the right, and climbing a short but very steep 
hill, we come to "the bench," or plateau, from 
where, looking to the southeast, we see the 



AMONG THE MORMONS. III. 

steam arising from the Hot Springs, a group of 
a dozen or more being scattered round near the 
mouth of Cottonwood Creek. The bottom fell 
out of one of these springs not long since, and it 
is now seventy or eighty feet deep. This par- 
ticular spring was the only one that was used by 
the bathers, and I often think of what the fate of 
some of us would have been had we been taking 
a warm swimming-bath at the time of this change 
in its formation and depth. 

And now we come to Bear River, along the 
banks of which the road winds, sometimes hun- 
dreds of feet above it. From some of the highest 
points the eye can take in the valley for miles, 
and the various ranches can be seen nestling at 
the foot of the mountains across the river. Add 
to this the beautiful wheat fields scattered here 
and there, and we have one vast natural picture 
set in a frame of emerald hills which a lover of 
beautiful scenery will never tire of contemplat- 
ing. 

It was now approaching noon, and as we were 
billed to show in Gentile Valley that afternoon 
and evening we hurried on, but we did not reach 
there until it was too late to give an afternoon 
performance. I went to a straw-stack and mak- 
ing myself comfortable, lay down and had a nap. 
I woke up toward dark, and feeling pretty 
hungry, I started for the house where we were 



112 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



to eat, but as the proprietor knew me I hesitated 
for a while before I entered, for I was far from 
desirous of having my identity revealed just 
then. However, when I remembered that there 
was not a harder-looking pill in the aggregation 
than myself, I braced up and took my seat at one of 
the tables. My appetite was good, and I plied 
my knife and fork with such effect that in a few 
minutes the table in my neighborhood looked as 
if a hurricane had struck it, and to my great 
satisfaction I managed to leave the house with- 
out being recognized. 

I then went down to where the circus tent 
was pitched and made myself useful in various 
ways. It was drawing near the time for the per- 
formance to begin, and everything was hurry and 
bustle in the dressing-room where I found the 
Roman soldiers getting ready to carry the ban- 
ners in the procession. They were putting on 
their regimentals, and my friend Mike was try- 
ing to get on a Roman soldier's coat two sizes 
too small for him. Now, as Mike was a big 
pussy old stage-driver, and as he only had three 
fingers on both hands, (this being the reason he 
was called " Three-Fingered Mike") the reader 
can easily understand what difficulty he had in 
robing himself — and the more poor Mike was 
hurried the less speed he made. To my offer 
of services as valet, Mike replied: " No; I'll get 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



113 



the d n thing on after a while," and I, of 

course, had to let him do the best he could un- 
aided. The Roman soldiers were by this time 
nearly ready> and the band was beginning to 
tune up for the grand march when the manager, 
finding that Mike was not yet ready, turned to 
me and said : ''Slip into those regimentals and 
help us out — it only takes a few minutes." I 
looked at him to see if he meant it, but seeing a 
sly twinkle in his eye, I laughingly told him that 
I was afraid I waddled too much for a Roman 
soldier: so they had to do without me, and 
opened the performance with one warrior 
short. The performance having been gone 
through with to the satisfaction of the audience, 
we hastily took down the canvas, and after 
stowing it away in the wagons we rolled out of 
town about two o'clock on our way to Soda 
Springs. It was a bitterly cold morning, and 
Mike and myself had great difficulty in keeping 
warm as we jogged along up and down the dif- 
ferent hills. The band-wagon generally took 
the lead, and we could discern the other wagons 
following us by their twinkling lights ; now they 
were far above us on some hill, and again in the 
depths of some valley which we had already left 
behind us. We longed for daybreak, and I sug- 
gested that we should stop and light a fire, as 
there was plenty of dry sage-brush with which 



H4 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



to make one. We finally did so, and the sight 
of the poor benumbed Dutch band-men was 
ludicrous in the extreme as they clumsily dropped 
from their elevated perch. As soon as they saw 
what we were up to they all set to work gather- 
ing fuel, and we had a rousing fire burning in a 
very short time. By the time we were all 
thoroughly warmed up, most of the other wagons 
came up with us, so we pursued our journey. 
Mike, who of course was ignorant of my true 
character, now commenced giving me some good 
advice. He told me there was no money in fol- 
lowing a circus, and strongly advised me to try to 
get work on a section or on some ranche ; I re- 
plied (and I must confess I was giving him the 
truth) that I was already tired of circus life, and 
expressed my intention of quitting it when we 
reached Montpelier, and of looking round for 
some more congenial employment. 

On arriving at Soda Springs, we went to the 
Williams Hotel, and as the landlady's brother 
knew me, he greeted me very cordially, much to 
my annoyance, and to the amazement of Mike, 
whom I was helping with the horses. I now 
saw I must make a confidant of my three-fingered 
friend, for he might ask Williams who I was, and 
not knowing that I had any reasons for secrecy, 
might give me away to the rest of the hands; so 
I disclosed my true identity to him. To satisfy 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



whatever curiosity Williams might have, I told 
him I was on the track of the parties who had 
robbed the stage near Arco, and got his promise 
not to divulge it to any one. I then went up into 
a loft to get some much -needed sleep, and did 
not awake until late in the afternoon. I had no 
sooner descended from it than I went plump into 

the arms of Billy C , a friend of mine, who 

had come to get his horse, which he boarded in 
this stable. I must have looked pretty tough 
and " rocky," for, as I had only just emerged 
from a bed of hay, I had a lot of hayseed and such 
truck hanging to me. Billy evidently did not 
recognize me at first, for after looking at me a 
moment he said: 

"I beg your pardon, but I thought I knew 
your voice." 

"I guess not, sir," I replied, "I am with the 
circus." 

" You're Fred," exclaimed he after taking 
another good look. 

" Yes," I said, "but cheese it before these fel- 
lows. Don't tell any one you have seen me, 
and I will come over and see you at dusk." 

"All right," replied he, as he turned away 
and went off with his horse and buggy. 

I mention all these apparently trivial incidents 
merely to show how absolutely necessary it was 
that one should be careful. Secrecy and dis- 



Il6 A detective's experience 

guise were indispensable in any attempt to get 
into Paris, or, in fact, into any other Mormon 
stronghold, for the purpose of making arrests. 
The reader will, I hope, pardon me for dealing 
with such trifles, but I cannot well omit them, 
for they all have a bearing on this narrative, and 
from first to last I am endeavoring to give the 
facts just as they occurred. 

I went down to the circus tent, but as I was 
about to lend a hand in making the ring, Dan, 
the boss canvas man, came over and said he 
guessed my services were not needed; that busi- 
ness was light, and they had plenty of hands, 
and as it was a joint-stock affair it stood them 
all in hand to keep down expenses as much as 
possible. 

I told him I would not entail any additional 
expense, as I had money to pay my way at the 
hotels; that I was a poor Mormon boy, who had 
only one father and one mother, and having fol- 
lowed the band thus far, I was afraid I could 
never find my way back. 

He didn't know whether to get mad or not, 

and finally blurted out: " Who in h 1 are you, 

anyway?" 

I laughed and told him to ask Teeter, the 
manager; and then thinking it best not to arouse 
his curiosity too far, I said: " Dan, things are 
just this way/' I then told him the true state 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



117 



of the case, and he promised to do all he could 
to further my ends. 

A brief description of Soda Springs may not 
be out of place. It is a small but scattered vil- 
lage, not far from the banks of Bear River — it is 
in fact two villages in one. The old town is 
built on the old emigrant trail, while the new 
town clusters round the railroad, and is the cen- 
ter of a number of mineral springs that are 
becoming widely known through their medicinal 
qualities, and a great deal of the water is shipped 
both east and west. Some of the springs are 
highly impregnated with soda, and foam, sparkle 
and taste precisely like the manufactured article, 
but contain none of the deleterious ingredients 
used in the latter, as has been proved by analy- 
sis. There are other springs containing differ- 
ent healing properties, and Soda Springs may 
be said to have been built on the roof of one of 
Nature's great laboratories. In the summer- 
time it is a great resort for tourists, many stay- 
ing from early spring until the snow begins to 
fly. The winters are pretty cold, but the air is 
tempered more or less by the vapor which arises 
from the chimneys of the chemical factory 
beneath. It is noted for the beauty of its scen- 
ery and the character of its formation, and any 
one in search of health, and with a desire to 
enjoy it as they go along, will find Soda Springs 



1 1 8 A detective's experience 

has been very plentifully supplied with means to 
that end. There are some very nice people 
there, both Gentiles and Mormons, and one or 
two Mormon cranks that will repay a close 
study. 

As I have not explained what our plans were, 
in connection with this trip, I had better do so 
now. After talking- over the ways and means, 
the Marshal and I decided that the following- 
plan, while promising more success than any 
other, would at the same time be attended with a 
spice of excitement and no small amount of fun. 
(I am sorry to say that Uncle Sam does not pay 
very liberally for work done in the Territories, 
and seeing that expenses out there are at least 
three times what they are in the East, we often 
have to balance our account, so to speak, by 
charging ourselves with what fun we can knock 
out in the discharge of our duty.) 

A business friend in Montpelier, who was sup- 
posed to be a staunch Gentile, was taken into the 
scheme, and on my arrival with the circus was to 
give me pointers on each man for whom I had a 
warrant, as he went into the show. I had war- 
rants for about twenty men in Montpelier, all of 
whom had then, and in fact have to-day from two 
to seven wives each. Now, as I have been often 
asked if all Mormons are not polygamists, I 
would say that the proportion in Idaho would 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



119 



probably not be more than one in twenty ; while 
again in Logan and other little spots in Utah the 
average of " Gideon's band " would be fully fifteen 
in twenty. However, I had papers for twenty 
here, and as they were pointed out to me I was 
to locate them in the audience. The Marshal 
was to be at Pocatello, and I was to notify him 
by telegraph from Soda Springs, but for good 
reasons I wrote him instead of wiring intelligence 
as to the time the first performance would take 
place, when he was to come to Montpelier. I 
was to meet him there and report progress, 
while he was to remain in the sleeper and go on 
to where the east-bound train passed the one 
going west and then return to Montpelier about 
four o'clock in the afternoon. This was done so 
that he could reach the circus when the perform- 
ance was in full blast without being observed 
by any of the inhabitants, to whom he was as 
well known "as the town clock." I, of course, 
would be inside with my men all ready spotted, 
and as I led them down one by one to the ring, 
in "accents soft and low," he was to read the 
warrants to them. I was also, if possible, to 
have things fixed so as to nrevent their exit 
during our little matinee. 

As it was raining when we left Soda Springs, 
I concluded to go back on my old side-partner 
Mike and ride to Georgetown with the canvas- 



120 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



men in the big covered wagon the canvas was 
stowed in, and on mentioning it to Dan, the boss, 
he said, " All right, I guess we can make room 
for you." So I climbed in, and we rolled out of 
town about nine o'clock in the morning. The 
road from Soda Springs to Georgetown was very 
monotonous, as nothing but barren hills and 
interminable stretches of sage-brush flats meet 
the eye, relieved once in a while by the glimpses 
one gets of Bear River, which can always be 
easily located by the brush that lines its banks. 
The canvas-wagon was a large old-time " prairie 
schooner," and the canvas being laid in the bot- 
tom always with an eye to comfort, I found 
riding in it was quite an improvement on the 
band-wagon, and as its occupants had all seen 
more or less of the world the dreariness of the 
road was but little felt. We all laid full length 
in the wagon, feet to feet. One of the number 
called "Tex" had the most comical drawl, and 
if he could only be transferred to the stage, his 
long lank body topped off as it was with a som 
brero, he would have been a good card. His 
inimitable drawl that morning was punctuated as 
it were with a hiccough caused, as he told us, by 
a "too (hie) free indulgence in his fav'rit 
bev'rige, alke-hol." Through some means the 
conversation turned on Mormons, and I found 
Tex was well acquainted with quite a number of 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



121 



the polygamists, warrants for whom I had at that 
time safely stowed away in my pocket. He had 
lived one winter in Montpelier, and would tell us 
of Old Man So-and-so and the " monkey-and- 
parrot" time he had trying to keep his wives 
from scratching out each other's eyes. Then he 
would wander from one " old cuss to another," 
as he called them, thus quite unconsciously 
giving me items that were of benefit later on. I 
looked across at Dan interrogatively, thinking 
perhaps he had told Tex who I was, and that he 
in consequence was trying to draw me out ; but 
Dan giving me a reassuring look, I began to 
draw Tex out, and sounded him with a view to 
securing his services at Montpelier. By this 
time we were drawing near Georgetown, and the 
subject for the time being dropped, Dan asked 
Tex how large a place Georgetown was and the 
size of the house to be expected. Tex answered 
rather gloomily, so we relapsed into a silence 
unbroken until we heard the driver tell Dan to 
''git onto Georgetown fer a show-town, " and, 
looking out, we saw a city of about ten log 
houses. 

As no one knew which particular house tne 
advance agent had arranged for us to eat at, we 
were at a stand-still for a few moments, when an 
old resident came along and asked: 

" Be you the show? " 



122 



A DETECT WE'S EXPERIENCE 



Dan said, " Yes, a part of it." 

"Well, the man as stuck the papers up said 
as how some on you was to stop at my house 
down thar by the creek, and 'ere's the succus lot 
he picked on." 

We all scrambled out of the wagon, and Tex, 
turning to a native who was gazing on us with 
wide-eyed curiosity, asked him if it was possible 
to get "a, little alke-hol" in the city. 

The native replied, " No, but I guess you 
could get a boy to go for some." 

" Go whar? " said Tex. 

"To Montpelier," returned the native. 

As it was fourteen miles to Montpelier, I 
thought that settled the alcohol question, and I 
walked off to the house arranged for us to eat at, 
while Tex and his new acquaintance wrestled 
with the problem of how to get alcohol. I had 
forgotten all about Tex and his heart's desire, 
when he came to me and asked for the loan of a 
dollar, as he had found a boy to go for it. The 
round trip being twenty-eight miles, will give 
some idea of how badly the kid wanted to go to 
the circus, as that was to be his reward. Want- 
ing to stand well with Tex, I lent him the dollar, 
and sure enough the boy got him his alcohol. 
We put up the canvas, and surely no other cir- 
cus ever tackled a more forlorn spot. There 
were but two men found to have the price of 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



123 



admission, the balance of the audience being 
composed of the different parties whom we were 
quartered with, and their families. It was a 
blue lookout, and after looking the matter over, 
the manager concluded to pull down the canvas 
and go to Montpelier. 

Tex " 'lowed ef we didn't git away fum this 
yer carrot-eating country putty soon, poverty 
w'd hev sich a grip on us we couldn't leave 
nohow." 

We took the tent down accordingly, and after 
a good night's rest, we rolled out, and about 
day-break arrived at Montpelier. 

Montpelier, like Soda Springs, is composed of 
two towns. The old town is built up on the 
" bench," and is inhabited entirely by Mormons, 
while the new town clusters round the railroad, 
and is occupied principally by the Gentiles, 
almost all of them railroad men. These two 
towns are bitterly antagonistic, as railroad men 
are seldom found to have much use for Mormons, 
It was into the old town that we drove, and it 
was found that if the tent was put up there the 
Gentiles from the lower town would not patron- 
ize it, and vice versa; so it was decided to show 
in the old town in the afternoon and move to the 
new town in the evening. 

Having made arrangements with Tex to point 
me out the residences of all the polygamists in 



124 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



Montpelier, as soon as the tent was pitched he 
proceeded to do so. He and I started to go 
down to the railroad, or new town. As we 
passed a polygamist's house he would give me 
the name of the occupant and the extent of his 
harem, which I was careful to jot down as soon 
as possible. Those that we did not pass he 
would show me in the distance, and as- the town 
lay on a slope of the mountain, we could take it 
all in at a glance. He would describe things 
about this way: 

" D' ye see yender little log cabin way up thar 
near the foot-hills, with a big barn back of it, 
jest east of whar we is now? Waal, ole Jim So- 
and-so herds three weemin in thet cab'n. Going 
on a little further, he would say : " Right yer in 
this yer house we's pass'n is whar ' Hezekiah 
Hogwash ' lives. He hez four weemin, or did 
hev when I was yer, but Lawd he might hev a 
dozen now, as he started in kinder wholesale — 
married two sisters and got sealed to their 
mother all about the same time." And here Tex 
broke out with "what relation will them kids be 
to each other when they grows up ? " I thought 
it was an easy question and was going to an- 
swer it right off the reel, but after calling them 
everything from ancestor down to posterity, Tex 
said : " Why you is foolish. They is someth'n 
ain't in no dictionary." As I could not answer 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



125 



the question, and am still anxious to know, I 
hereby pledge myself to give a moss-agate to 
any one who can " parse " them. I put down in 
this way the names of several new ones, besides 
finding out just where the others resided for 
whom I had warrants. By this time we had 
reached the lower town, and leaving Tex to 
enjoy himself the best he could, I started for the 
place of our supposed friend. He did not "en- 
thuse" when he learned who I was and my mis- 
sion, and blurted out: " We don't want to touch 
Montpelier," when I had unfolded my plans, and 
I could plainly see that either through fear or 
some other cause he had concluded to go back 
on his own proposition. I told him I wished he 
had thought of it before writing such an encour- 
aging letter, and not having me trapseing all 
over the country, sleeping in barns and hay- 
stacks to make my part of the programme good. 
When I found he wouldn't do as he had agreed, 
I said : " I am fixed to work it myself, and that 
you'll not give me away is all I ask." He flushed 
up at this and pretended to be indignant at the 
idea, and I soon after went over to the train, ex- 
pecting to find the Marshal, who, through the fail- 
ure of my letter to reach him, was not on board, 
as he was looking for a telegram, and not a letter. 
It was now drawing near time for the afternoon 
performance, so I went and got Tex and we 



126 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



started for the old town, feeling pretty badly 
broken up. I asked him if he and his partner 
would stand "pat," and he said he would. On 
our way we were overtaken by the man who had 
played me false, as he was driving in his buggy 
in the same direction as we were going. Being 
afraid he was going to head me off in the polyg- 
amist section of the place, I tried to prevent it 
by saying I would like to ride up with him. He 
consented, and Tex and I climbed up and sat 
behind with our feet dangling out. He did not 
seem to be pleased with our company, and imme- 
diately began whipping the horses viciously, and 
the team becoming unmanageable they got the 
best of him, and the buggy striking an obstruc- 
tion I was thrown out and received injuries which 
laid me up for quite awhile. Since that day my 
prayer has been: "From Jack Mormons good 
Lord deliver us." 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



127 



CHAPTER XII. 

"Jack Mormons" — Who They Are and What They 
Are Like. 

Now that I have mentioned the " Jack Mor- 
mon," I will turn on the light so that we can all 
see him, for he will repay a little dissection. He 
has not been raised as a Mormon ; he has raised 
himself principally, and has made a pretty bad 
job of it. His ambition is to be thought well of 
by all classes, but as a man can't serve God and 
mammon he only succeeds in rendering himself 
despicable and being despised alike by both 
Mormons and Gentiles. To his Mormon neigh- 
bors he will say that, in his opinion, the "dod- 
gasted" government has about all it can attend 
to without bothering its head about other people's 
religion, for his part he " don't see what business 
it is of anybody's if a man wants to marry his 
own daughter, and if these Gentiles that are 
making all the trouble for the Mormons were 
out of the country it would be better off. He 
will then probably begin running down his 
Gentile neighbors, and if he thought it would 
help him out any in the good opinion of those he 
is afraid of, or whom he may deem it policy to 
ingratiate himself with, he would no doubt get 
down on his knees and black their boots. We 



128 



A detective's experience 



will suppose he is running- a little fourth-class 
postoffice. When the Mormons come in he will 
go on in the above strain, but when a Gentile 
comes in he is apt to go into ecstasy over Gen- 
tiles, "so few of our kind round," he explain:-. 
Then he will turn himself loose against his 
Mormon visitors of a few moments before, and 
after tearing them to pieces, says he wishes he 
was out of such a country, and cannot see why 
the government does not put them down. Should 
you in a moment of confidence let him know any- 
thing of your business, what you tell him is so 
much added to his capital stock, and the poor 
wretch is on "pins and needles" until he runs 
and tells it with such embellishments as he thinks 
will make it weigh more. As a consequence (for 
sooner or later notes are compared by Mormon 
and Gentile), Mr. Postmaster, or whoever else 
he may be, is speedily put on the shelf and tick- 
eted "Jack Mormon." As a general thing they 
cannot be insulted, and go through life despised 
by both parties, and in their petty way make 
lots of trouble. There are several in Idaho, we 
are sorry to say, but we suppose nature intended 
them for some purpose like flies and bed- 
bugs. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



129 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Mobbed by Mormons at Franklin — How They Got 

Left. 

In company with another party I took a trip 
to Salt Lake City. On our return we stopped 
off at Logan, Utah, intending to take the freight 
later on which reached Franklin after dark, and 
as that was the town which, at the time, we were 
interested in we did not want to arrive there in 
daylight. Franklin is a place of six or eight 
hundred inhabitants, all Mormons with the 
exception of four or five families. It contains a 
Mormon Church, or as they call it, " Taber- 
nacle, " the inevitable Zion's Co-operative Insti- 
tution, a brewery, a few other stores and a Pres- 
byterian meeting-house and school. As we got 
on the train at Logan we were not very 
agreeably surprised to find a young Mormon 
resident of Franklin named Jim Webster and his 
girl on board. I knew him to be a spy, his 
father holding a very high position in the Church, 
and I deemed it necessary to pull the wool over 
his eyes so effectually that he would not want to 
mention our names after he got off at Franklin. 
I gave my friend the hint that it would be a good 
scheme to try and make Webster jealous by 
making love to the girl, and as he was an adept 



130 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

at this kind of work it was but a few short 
moments before he had her laughing and chat- 
ting and seemingly altogether unmindful of Jim. 
I called his attention to the flirtation and ven- 
tured to remark that if it were possible for us to 
get off at Franklin I really believed that George 
would cut him out. He brightened up as the 
thought struck him that we would soon be sepa- 
rated, and on his asking me where we were 
going I told him Oxford, and wrote a message 
to be sent from Franklin which I asked him to 
give the agent as I did not want to get off the 
train. The town of Franklin has a great many 
polygamists among its inhabitants, and although 
there are warrants out for the greater part of 
them, and the town has been repeatedly raided, 
but four or five had been arrested up to this 
time. On reaching Franklin we bade the young 
couple adieu, and allowing them time to get out 
of sight we got off and went to a stable belong- 
ing to a Gentile friend, where we secured horses 
and the assistance of a couple of Gentiles who 
knew all the residences, to act as guides. We 
started to take them in rotation, and as many of 
them had two houses, it took some time to search 
each place, and " whew ! " when I remember the 
filth of some of the houses I cannot help think- 
ing that if cleanliness is next to Godliness, some 
of the Franklin Mormons are beyond all redemp- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



131 



tion. I will briefly describe one house, and it 
will do as a sample of the rest. We found 
several wretched-looking children around amidst 
the greatest squalor and filth. The woman was 
the fifth wife and was a Scotch woman. The 
house contained three very small rooms. The 
door was off one of the rooms, which was used as 
a granary, and boards were nailed to the frame 
about two feet high, the floor being covered 
with wheat, while old shoes, pots, pans and other 
rubbish were profusely scattered round. The 
bed was spread out in one corner, and the room 
lacked none of the requisites of a sleeping-room. 
A view of this chaotic apartment suggested the 
thought that wheat taken from any other bin 
would make just as good bread, and I found 
myself wondering if by any possibility this wheat 
had anything to do with the brand of flour we 
were using at home. 

Language fails to depict the abject squalor of 
the balance of the house, while children were to 
be found sleeping in every nook and cranny. It 
looked more like the lair of an animal than the 
abode of human beings. After searching several 
houses we finally arrested a polygamist named 
Lowe, but as it-was late and-he was an old man, 
we had not the heart to take him, so we let him 
go on his honor until morning. We then started 
for the houses of some of the witnesses in his 



132 



A detective's experience 



case which were at some distance off ; and we 
found, on our return, that the news of the raid 
had been scattered far and wide and Webster 
and several other hoodlums had organized a 
mob. This mob had scattered in all directions 
in search of us, and part of them overtook us, 
and as they continued to follow us we turned 
and asked them what they meant. "None of 
your d n business," they replied. 

" If you keep following after us I guess we'll 
have to make it our business. Now tell us 
which road you propose to take." 

"We're gwine down this way," said one. 

" All right," I rejoined, " we're going this way, 
and don't propose to have any of you fellows 
tagging after us." 

We separated from the mob here, and the 
boys who had acted as our guides started for 
home, while we went on to the stable where we 
had got our horses. We had just taken the 
saddles off and turned them loose, when we 
heard several shots fired. Hastily running in 
the direction of the shots, we were met by 
one of the boys, who had his hat off and was 
very much excited. He told us that the mob we 
had separated from a few moments before had 
headed them off, and that it was he who had 
fired several shots. They had dragged him 
from his horse, and it had got away, so that we 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



135 



were now all afoot. We walked a hundred 
yards or so, and met the other young man, still 
on horseback, who gave us the names of some 
of the mob, and as we stood talking, it being a 
pretty dark night, some of the mob ran into us. 
Calling upon them to halt, they started to make 
off, but by this time we had them surrounded, 
and after several shots were exchanged, we suc- 
ceeded in arresting four of them. They all 
denied having participated in the previous racket 
with the boys, but unfortunately for them, the 
brewery man and one or two Gentiles happened 
to be in the bar-room when Webster organized 
the mob, so there was no lack of evidence with 
which to convict them. The gentleman who a 
short time before had told me I was "the mean- 
est man in Idaho," was among those under 
arrest. His name was Packer. 

As we left Franklin the next morning for 
Oxford, the wagons loaded with prisoners, wit- 
nesses and bondsmen, I was strongly reminded 
of my circus experience, and en route we were 
gazed at with amazement by the Mormon ranch- 
ers, as the cavalcade wended its way. Brother 
Lowe, the one first arrested, led the way, seated 
in his own buggy, with his two wives and sons, 
whom we had subpoenaed, and funny as it may 
seem, he was the only one of the prisoners who 
g-ot clear; though the evidence was thought 



136 



A detective's experience 



to be conclusive, perjury prevailed. He has 
since then gone to a higher court for trial, for he 
died some months ago. The others were duly 
tried, convicted and liberally fined, and now a 
child might go into Franklin on Uncle Sam's 
business without in any way being molested. 



AMONG THE MORMONS 



137 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Dixon — A Brave Man " In His Mind." 

There is a road running south from Oxford 
at the base of the mountains, which at one time 
was very much traveled. It is the old stage road 
leading from Salt Lake City to Montana, and 
before the advent of the Utah Northern Railway 
the greater part of the freight for the north went 
that way; as a consequence this road is very 
thickly settled for at least thirty miles south. 
The ranchers are, with three or four exceptions, 
Mormons of the most fanatical type, and among 
them can be found a fair sprinkling of polyga- 
mists. Seven miles from Oxford is situated the 
little hamlet of Clifton. It has one little store 
(in which the postoffice is also kept) whose stock 
of goods could be carried off in a wheelbarrow, 
yet it rejoices in the dignified title of "Zion's 
Co-operative Mercantile Institution." This es- 
tablishment was superintended by a man named 
Dixon who, while he sold his Mormon neighbors 
what groceries and provisions they needed, also 
attended to their spiritual welfare, for he was 
Bishop, tithe-gatherer and in fact the "head- 
center" of the little community round Clifton. 
To all his other responsibilities were added the 
qare of two wives and two families, for he not 



138 



A detective's experience 



only preached polygamy but practiced it, and was 
very defiant about it, too. He was looked up to 
by his neighbors as a second edition of the David 
who slew Goliah, so boastful was he of what he 
would do should any attempt be made to arrest 
him. He was in the habit of doing business 
with a belt full of cartridges and a six-shooter 
hanging to him. I was told that all this helped 
his business somewhat, and that he seemed to 
wish to be looked upon as a bad man from "Bit- 
ter Creek" generally. I made one or two trips 
after him, but always without success, as no mat- 
ter at what time of the night I went the dogs at 
the different ranches would bark the news to 
Dixon, who being a veritable cur as it afterwards 
turned out, would fly to the mountains on the 
slightest noise out of the common. One trip 
made was at the suggestion of a Gentile, who 
told me that Dixon was at home now and pro- 
posed to stay and fight it out, and that his hiding- 
place was a new cellar that had been dug adjoin- 
ing the store. This party had seen him and 
spoken to him, and he knew that a visit paid him 
now would result in his arrest. Securing the 
assistance of another party, we started for his 
place, arriving there just as day was breaking. 
As I had never seen him to my knowledge, I 
could only go by the description I had of him. 
We were in hopes that by arriving thus early 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



139 



we would find him either in bed in one of the 
two houses, or in the cellar already mentioned. 
One house adjoined the store and the other was 
across the road, so while Johnny, my partner for 
the time being, kept a close watch on the store, 
with orders to take a shot at any one leaving if 
they would not stop when called on, I went to 
the house across the street. On going round to 
the back door I found it was admirably adapted 
to fastening on the outside, it having one of those 
old-fashioned latches. I shoved a stick through 
it to prevent its being opened from the inside, 
and going round to the front I gained admittance, 
but after a thorough search failed to find the 
blood-thirsty Dixon. I then proceeded to the 
other house, and being assured by Johnny that 
no one had left it, I rapped on the door and. was 
sleepily admitted by Mrs. Dixon No. 1, who pro- 
tested against being disturbed so early in the 
morning; but she spoke in such a good-humored 
way that I began to think they had the laugh on 
me after all. I searched the house thoroughly, 
however, and then adjourned to the store, the 
gentle Mrs. Dixon going ahead of me to open 
the door, which greatly to my surprise she does 
without unlocking, and ushers me into the pres- 
ence of about a half a dozen good Mormons who 
laughingly bid me good-morning, They ironic- 
ally said how sorry they felt at my disappoint- 



HO 



A detective's experience 



ment, but their cheerful and exultant manner gave 
the lie to their expressed sympathy, as they told 
me how they enjoyed my discomfiture in my 
search for Dixon. 

"And now, "said old Bill Marler, "if you will 
allow me, I will show you through the premises." 

It took but a moment to go through the store, 
so I said: "Give me a candle, Bill, till I look 
in the cellar. " 

"Ah ! I forgot the cellar," said he, handing 
me a candle, adding : " Be keerful, for Dixon is 
a cutter and a shooter." 

" It does look that way, don't it ? " I replied. 

Going into the cellar nothing was found but 
an old mattress and blankets that Bill told me 
was to take a nap on during the heat of the 
day. 

"How is it you did not come earlier?" said 
he. "We expected you last night; and es 
Dixon hed bizness somewhars else he lit out 
t' tend to it." 

" Oh, I just dropped in on my way to 
Weston," I replied. 

" That's too thin ! " they all chimed in. " The 
party as told you Dixon was 'ere, kem down 
an' told us as h6*w we might look for a call from 
you, and we ben lookin' fer you all night to pay 
us a call." 

Old Bill, whom I have mentioned, was the 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



141 



father of Dixon's second wife, and will figure in 
this narrative later on. So, as we are in a hurry 
to catch a polygamist, we will leave him and his 
friends to chuckle together a little longer. It 
only goes to show the reliance to be placed on 
some Gentiles. 



142 A detective's experience 



CHAPTER XV. 

Jergenson — Poverty no Bar to Polygamy . 

We will now endeavor to show that a man 
can't be too poor to be a polygamist. Brother 
Jergenson's case illustrates that in polygamy, as 
in everything else, if " there's a will there's a 
way." This Danish gentleman lives in Gentile 
Valley, is the husband of two wives and the 
father of six children. One night 1 started on 
horseback to arrest him. The weather was 
cold and frosty, and a thick fog or mist which 
froze as soon as it came in contact with me, 
made the journey as uncomfortable as any I had 
ever taken ; and before long both I and my 
horse were coated with ice, and presented the 
appearance of a large equestrian icicle, if I may 
use such an expression. 

I reached Cottonwood Crossing, which was 
about half way from my destination, and was, to 
my great disappointment, in a far worse condi- 
tion for fording than on any of my previous 
attempts. The current was running very swiftly, 
and had overflowed the banks, which were now 
nothing but a mass of solid ice about three feet 
above the surface of the water. I was at a loss 
to know how to get my horse across such an 
impediment, and went up an4 down the stream 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



143 



for some distance in search of a favorable place. 
I finally came to where I thought the stream 
could best be forded, so I dismounted and tak- 
ing the bridle in my hand, proceeded to feel my 
way carefully preparatory to leading the horse 
into the water. The ice proved treacherous, 
and breaking under me, I suddenly found myself 
in about three feet of water. There was now 
of course no alternative but to wade across, 
which I did with difficulty, dragging my horse 
up the bank after me. To continue my journey 
in such a condition was out of the question, so I 
hastened to build a fire, and before long I was 
seated on a log warming myself and drying my 
clothing as well as I could under the circum- 
stances. It was freezing very hard, and I was 
loth to leave my temporary camp with its cheer- 
ful blaze ; but as I had important business on 
hand I finally mounted my horse and continued 
my journey. 

I reached the neighborhood where Jergensen 
lived about day-break. He was a rancher on a 
very small scale, and certainly the most poverty- 
stricken polygamist I had yet come across. He 
spoke English very imperfectly, but his wives 
could speak nothing but their native Danish. 
Near a small creek that watered the ranche were 
two diminutive log cabins, situated about ten 
feet apart, and built exactly alike, each having 



144 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



one door, and one window composed of two small 
panes of glass. The door of the first cabin was 
opened, in response to my demand for admission, 
by Jergensen, who was arrayed in garments too 
light for the prevailing temperature, and I 
quickly got inside. I will briefly describe the 
interior. The bed, which was in one corner, was 
home-made, and of the most primitive character, 
the wood-work was of good, stout, but undressed 
cottonwood poles, fastened together with raw- 
hide. There was an old pine cupboard, entirely 
empty; a very rickety table, a chair that had 
seen its best days years before, and an old 
cracked stove, that no one but a junk-dealer 
could make any use of. There was a quantity 
of rubbish laying round, and the only thing I saw 
which looked like a cooking utensil was an arti- 
cle that had once been a frying-pan, but as a 
large piece of the rim was broken out, it was 
clear to me that it had long before outlived its 
usefulness. The bed was occupied by a good- 
natured looking woman and a fat, healthy little 
girl, while at the foot of the bed, and jammed 
between it and the wall, was a crib or cot, of the 
same manufacture as its larger neighbor, in which 
lay two little tow-heads. When served with the 
warrant, Jergensen did not deny the fact that he 
was a polygamist, and bravely acknowledged his 
wives and children, and said that if it was a 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



145 



crime he was willing to suffer for it. I then sub- 
poenaed his wife and adjourned to the other 
cabin, the inside of which was a very close coun- 
terpart of the one I had just left. The other 
wife was of a different stamp from the first lady, 
and seemed to be of a very surly disposition, so 
I did my business with her as soon as possible 
and departed. Jergenson's penalty for marrying 
not wisely but too often was one year in the 
House of Correction at Detroit. 



A detective's experience 



CHAPTER XVI. 

A Trip Through the Heart of Mormondom — Scenery 
and Incidents — The Land They Live In — Great 
Temple at Logan — The Church Ranche — Sanctified 
Live Stock. 

The Utah Northern Railroad is a narrow 
guage which runs from Ogden, Utah, to Garri- 
son, Montana, and through the very heart of the 
far-famed Cashe Valley. As this road takes in 
all the Mormon settlements of any importance 
north of the Union Pacific Railroad, a brief de- 
scription of the country it goes through will not 
be found uninteresting to the general reader, 
more especially as I am not aware that any 
reliable account of it has been published before. 
The road for its entire length runs parallel with 
the old Montana stage road, and through some 
of the finest mining and grazing country in the 
world. Owing to the supremacy the Mormons 
have maintained for so many years, the mining 
resources in this section have, to a great extent, 
been undeveloped, and I feel it safe to say that 
there is a great future for the country traversed 
by the Utah Northern. 

Ogden is just forty miles north of Salt Lake 
City, and is the junction of the Union Pacific, 
Utah Northern, Central Pacific, Denver and Rio 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



147 



Grande and the Utah Central Railroads, and is 
beautifully located. Towering mountains, that 
from their peculiarly rugged formation compare 
in picturesque grandeur with any to be found 
between Omaha and San Francisco, form its 
background. The snow lays on the summits of 
some of them all the year round. The popula- 
tion of Ogden is about nine thousand, and is 
principally Mormon, although within the past 
few years, since the advent of the railroads, many 
Gentiles have settled there and gone into busi- 
ness, and it may now be considered one of the 
important commercial centers of the West. The 
public and private buildings compare favorably 
with many older and more pretentious cities, and 
a grand central passenger depot is in course of 
construction at the present time ; and there is 
every reason to believe that Ogden, before very 
long, will overtake and rival Salt Lake City. It 
is surrounded by a fine farming country, and pro- 
duce and fruit of all kinds are as plentiful and 
cheap there as anywhere. It may be called the com- 
mercial supply depot of the territory traversed by 
the several railroads that run into it, and, as a 
rule, business in Ogden is brisk at all times of 
the year. 

As we leave Ogden going north, Salt Lake 
can be seen from the train stretching out a few 
miles to the southwest, and if it happens to be a 



148 



A detective's experience 



bright sun-shiny day the salt on its shores can 
be seen glistening in the sun for miles. It is 
hemmed in on the west and south sides by a lofty 
range of mountains, and many pleasure resorts 
are to be found along its shores. The first sta- 
tion we stop at is Hot Springs, a place that is 
becoming noted as a health resort, and nine miles 
from Ogden. The waters are said to be a sure 
cure for rheumatism and other diseases that have 
become chronic, but as I am not capable of enu- 
merating all the benefits that a visit to the springs 
might result in, we will content ourselves to look 
at the scenery and the millions of wild geese, 
ducks, snipe, cranes and seagulls that have left 
the lake and come up to the fresh water sloughs. 
It has been a source of wonder to many that sea- 
gulls can be found almost anywhere in the mount- 
ains, so far from their favorite element. I have 
seen them flying hundreds of miles up the country 
apparently as contented as if swimming on salt 
water. Proceeding on our way, the lofty mount- 
ains on our right are intersected by what appear 
to be long perpendicular red streaks; these are 
" dragways " or roads used by the ranchers to 
bring down wood from the pine woods above to 
the ranches in the valley. 

Willard, the next stopping-place, is a small 
village surrounded by a splendid farming coun- 
try and fruit orchards, and the fertile soil has 



AMONG THE MORMONS, 149 

" only to be tickled to laugh a harvest. " It is 
owned and inhabited entirely by Mormons, and 
there is not a single Gentile to be found for 
miles around. It is fourteen miles from Ogden. 
It seems a pity that a land of plenty, such as 
this is, should be under the control of a lot of 
ignorant and priest-ridden fanatics who cannot 
or will not do justice to it. I firmly believe that 
if it had been originally settled by a different 
class of people, the villages that are scattered 
through it would to-day be cities and towns 
filled with a happy and thriving population. 
How can people, born and bred as they have 
been, be expected to be anything else than a 
band of Ishmaelites ? " Their hand against 
every man," their so-called religion teaches 
them such doctrines, and from their childhood 
they seem to take to it naturally and gratefully. 
Theirs is a case which demands firm and heroic 
treatment ; it seems to be either " kill or cure, " 
with the chances against "cure." 

Brigham City is one of the garden spots of 
Utah. It is situated on the east side of the 
track, and should a stranger walk down its 
shaded street unheralded the male portion of the 
population will be sure to turn out, not to greet 
him with welcome, but to make a searching 
examination of his general appearance. If there 
is anything suspicious about him, or any indica- 



ISO A DETECTIVE'S experience 

tion that he is one of " Uncle Sam's hirelings," 
it will not be long before they will take them- 
selves off to a safe hiding-place, from whence 
they will not emerge until the coast is clear. 
They have been known before now to entertain 
Deputy Marshals unawares, and as there is a 
skeleton in almost every closet in the shape of a 
polygamist, it behooves them to be very careful 
as to the strangers they admit within their gates. 
A great deal of fruit and country produce is 
shipped from this point and finds a ready sale at 
places in Idaho and Montana north of here, and 
a good, able-bodied and industrious Mormon 
should have no difficulty in making both ends 
meet. The distance from Ogden is twenty-one 
miles, and from Corinne, on the Central Pacific, 
seven miles. 

Leaving Brigham City we gradually ascend 
for some miles. The scenery on our left is very 
grand, and presents a panorama of mountains, 
foothills and valleys, in rapid succession, as if 
to relieve the monotony it might otherwise have. 
Before we have gone very far we notice a divi- 
sion in the mountains which leads to St. Johns, 
Samaria, and other little towns, and this pass 
will bring us to the Malad Valley. This fertile 
spot is settled almost entirely by Welsh people, 
who are about equally divided in their religious 
faith. Some of them are Mormons of the Brig- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



151 



ham Young and John Taylor stripe, and among 
these there are several polygamists. The 
remainder are about equally distributed among 
the disciples of Joseph Smith and the various 
Gentile denominations. There is now a Gentile 
paper published in Malad by J. A. Straight, 
called the Idaho Enterprise, and Mormonism 
seems to be losing its grip in the valley. 

The next station on the Utah Northern is 
Collinston, which, on leaving, the Mendon Divide 
is immediately reached. The grade here is very 
heavy and a long, difficult climb for a train. 
Passenger trains get over with but little diffi- 
culty and only a slightly perceptible difference 
in speed ; but freights frequently have to 
"double" or be divided into two sections, each 
being pulled up separately. From the top of 
this mountain a view is presented which is worth 
going a long way to see. The Wasatch Range 
of mountains is in the shape of a horseshoe, 
which incloses Cashe Valley, and the Mendon 
Divide is a spur of that range. The valley at 
the foot of the mountains is dotted with hamlets, 
villages and towns varying in size from the little 
place of fifteen families to towns like Logan 
that can boast of its thousands of inhabitants. 
From the summit can be seen thirteen towns 
and villages, including Mendon, which lies just 
beneath us, Logan, Providence, as well as 



152 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



Franklin, which is in Idaho and about thirty*five 
miles off. These settlements have a very home- 
like appearance as they are seen in the distance 
when the trees are in full foliage, and the white 
houses peeping through, and the curved range 
of mountains forming a background, completes 
a natural picture unsurpassed in the West. 
Collinston is forty-two miles from Ogden. 

Logan is the next city of importance that we 
touch at, and is noted principally for its great 
Mormon temple, which is, without doubt, the 
finest if not quite the largest structure of its 
kind in all Mormondom, and is said to have cost 
three million dollars. It is built of a white 
sandstone taken from the mountains close by, 
and the exterior presents a very fine appearance,, 
especially if the sun strikes it, when it fairly 
glistens. It was built entirely by voluntary 
subscription, every Mormon either donating 
money or labor, or both, to the erection of the 
vast edifice. Its architectural appearance is 
very different from, and far superior to, the old 
building in Salt Lake City. This one, if placed 
in any Eastern or European city would rival any 
of their public buildings or cathedrals. The 
interior is in keeping with the rest of the build- 
ing and is highly ornate in design. The seating 
capacity is said to be about six thousand. Not- 
withstanding the fact that the Mormons are very 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



153 



close-mouthed, a report leaked out that there 
was a little "job" connected with the building, 
and it is not impossible that there was some 
crookedness even here. There are in Mormon- 
dom but three principal temples or tabernacles; 
one is at Salt Lake City, one at St. George and 
one at Logan as described above. One of the 
interesting ceremonies performed within these 
sacred buildings is the Mormon baptism, and I 
will briefly describe it. The Saints believe that 
if they are baptized for, or in place of friends or 
relatives who have previously died out of the 
faith it makes true Mormons of the deceased 
and brings them within the safety line of the 
Church, giving their departed spirits the privilege 
of flying invisibly in these temples just as if they 
had lived and died in the faith, and finally an 
abundant and glorious entry into the Mormon 
paradise. 

Recent developments have brought to light 
the fact that immense tracts of the best land in 
Utah, a great part of it in this beautiful Cashe 
Valley, has come into the possession and con- 
trol of the Mormon Church by fraudulent means, 
thereby debarring good and useful citizens ♦from 
obtaining homes in this Eden. I understand that 
rigid investigation has been the means of un- 
earthing several cases of fraud of this character 
in various parts of the Territory. Logan is very 



154 



A detective's experience 



nicely located, and fifty-eight miles from Ogden. 
Leaving Logan behind, the towns of Hyde Park 
and Richmond are passed, and we come to the 
boundary line of the Territories of Utah and 
Idaho. At this point is a small creek, about a 
mile and a half south of Franklin, which, after 
passing, we soon reach Battle Creek. It is a 
small town on Bear River, and takes its name 
from the Indian fight which occurred there years 
ago between General O'Connor's forces and the 
Shoshone Indians. The savages were nearly all 
wiped out, and it was about the last effort they 
made to harass settlers in Southeastern Idaho. 
The ranchers to this day turn up relics of the 
fight with their ploughshares. It is not generally 
known that a brother of the departed prophet, 
Brigham Young, is a small rancher living about 
half a mile from Battle Creek. He is a Gentile, 
has never been a Mormon, and although offered 
every inducement to embrace the faith he has 
steadily and firmly refused to do so. He is a 
very fine old gentleman, well liked and respected 
by every one, and manages to eke out a living 
for himself and family on the small ranche he 
owns. 

After we leave Battle Creek we travel through 
a gorge up a steep incline, and before long reach 
Morell Siding. A little to the east of us, but 
invisible from the railroad, is one of those noto- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



155 



rious Church Ranches which are, as the name 
implies, depots for the care and receipt of live 
stock donated by the Saints to the Church in the 
shape of tithing 1 . At this one will be found at 
almost any season of the year all the way from 
five to fifteen hundred head of cattle, with droves 
of horses, sheep, pigs, etc., sufficient to stock a 
large-sized ranche. A competent crew of cow- 
boys are always on hand to receive contributions, 
and as each Saint drives in his four-footed 
offering, whatever brand may be on the animal 
is at once "vented" or canceled, a cross of the 
largest size is branded on its side with a red-hot 
iron, and in the twinkling of an eye the animal is 
converted from a worldly quadruped into a good, 
religious Mormon bull, cow, horse or mule, as 
the case may be. This system of tithing extends 
to all kinds of produce and other personal prop- 
erty. Old women knit tithing ; farmers give of 
their stock or grain ; house-wives give of the 
dairy product, chickens, etc^ — in fact there is 
nothing too small or insignificant to be taken. 
Tithing-clerks are appointed to take charge and 
keep an account of this tribute, and are generally 
paid a good salary. Many a good story is told 
by those who are lukewarm in the faith of some 
of the incidents attending the receipt of tithes, 
some of the Saints being at times rather stingy 
and backward. One Danish apostate told me 



*56 A detective's experience 

the following: The tithing-clerk informed him 
one day that the Lord expected him to bring in 
another load of hay. Now, as he had seen this 
same clerk feeding his own cattle with some of 
the Church hay he began to suspect that all was 
not right, and finally told the clerk that if the 
Lord wanted another load of hay he could go and 
cut it himself, as he had brought in all the tithing 
he was going to ; and from that day to this he 
has kept his word. Another good story is told 
of one of the brethren in this connection. The 
Territorial assessor called upon him for the pur- 
pose of assessing his property, and on asking 
him how many head of cattle he owned was 
informed that he had such and such a number. 
It was afterwards found that he had turned in as 
tithing to the Church fully as many cattle as he 
had told the assessor he owned altogether, which 
was conclusive proof that he owned ten times as 
many cattle as he had stated to the assessor. 
He evidently thought that if it was a sin to beat 
the Church, there was not much harm in lying to 
the tax-gatherer. 

Not much further on we come to the town of 
Oxford, which is about one hundred miles from 
Ogden. The town proper is about two miles 
and a half from the station, and is beautifully 
located in a little nook in the foot-hills, and is 
abundantly sheltered by mountains, so high that 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



157 



snow is found on their summits all the year 
round. Near the summit of this mountain range 
there is a mineral ledge, which can be traced for 
twenty or thirty miles, and a tunnel has been 
driven and several shafts sunk with a view of 
developing the resources. No great results 
have been attained as yet, owing to a lack of 
capital, but this will undoubtedly some day be a 
great mining country. There are stage-lines, 
which also carry mails, from this place to Malad 
and Gentile Valley. The population is about 
evenly divided between Mormons and Gentiles, 
who got along very nicely with each other until 
the new " Stake of Zion," previously alluded to 
in these pages, was established. That was the 
signal for a new order of things, and the friendly 
feeling no longer exists. A few years ago a 
Gentile was a mere cypher here; there was not 
a single Gentile institution in the place, not even 
to the extent of a place of worship or a school. 
The district school was controlled by a Mormon 
Board of Trustees and conducted by a Mormon 
teacher, who imparted but little to his pupils out- 
side of the doctrines contained in the Book of 
Mormon. There has, however, been a great 
change within the past three years, and the dis- 
trict school is now in Gentile hands, and is well 
attended,, and, strange to say, a well-established 
Methodist church. 



i 5 8 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



At a distance of about nine miles north of 
Oxford we come to the boundary line of the 
Shoshone Indian Reservation, which is thickly- 
dotted with ranches, but no rancher can be said 
to own his place, as he is nothing more than a 
squatter on Indian land and liable to ejectment 
at any time; and this condition of things exists 
until we get near Blackfoot, which is seventy 
miles further north. Thousands of head of cat- 
tle are wintered here, as it is an unexcelled win- 
ter range where but little snow falls. The Indians 
are paid a stated sum per head for this privilege, 
and are disposed to be on good terms with their 
white neighbors generally. There is now a 
sameness in the appearance of the country which 
is unbroken until we reach McCammon, about 
twenty miles off, which is the junction point of 
the Oregon Short Line with the Utah Northern. 
Leaving here, we at once enter the far-famed 
Port Neuf Canyon, through which runs the Port 
Neuf River. This canyon in the good old days 
of staging, before railroads were known in the 
Territory, was the paradise of road agents and 
highwaymen, and many are the stories which are 
told of how stage coaches were robbed by these 
knights of the road. Loss of life was a frequent 
occurrence here in those days, and superstitious 
people insist that the canyon is haunted to this 
day. The sides of the road are strewed with 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



159 



rocks and boulders of every conceivable size and 
shape, which look as if they might have been 
dropped there from some immense height, and 
remained just where they fell. In the canyon 
are a large number of Indian wickiups and 
farms, this location having been chosen by them 
on account of the facility with which live stock 
can be herded here. They are so hemmed in 
by natural fences in the shape of natural walls of 
stone which bound them that the artificial wire 
article would be superfluous. These Indians are 
mostly Mormons, and many of them are polyg- 
amists. They were converted to the faith many 
years ago, when the Mormons first settled that 
country, and are known as " Laminites." At the 
General Conference, held twice a year in Salt 
Lake City, these Indians are to be seen in holi- 
day attire, with gaudy-colored blankets and 
decked with all the gew-gaws and trinkets they 
can lay their hands on. 

Since the Mormon system has been shaken up 
by so many arrests and convictions, these con- 
ferences have been held alternately at Logan 
and Provo. The affairs of the Church, both 
spiritual and temporal, are thoroughly canvassed 
at these semi-annual gatherings, which last a 
week, and tens of thousands of Saints attend 
them. They are naturally looked forward to with 
eagerness by the residents of the cities where 



i'6o A detective's experience 

they are held, for they mean a week's rushing 
business and many dollars as well as spiritual 
profit. Most of the ranchers who come in will 
lay up sufficient stock of necessaries to last them 
until the next gathering in six months' time. 

From McCammon to Pocatello, a distance of 
twenty-two miles, the Utah Northern and Oregon 
Short Line run together, a third rail being laid 
to accommodate the broad gauge of the latter 
road. Pocatello, though a small town, is proba- 
bly the busiest place in the Mormon country. It 
is the principal shipping point for coal and cattle, 
and an immense railroad transfer business is 
done here, the yards being very extensive and 
hundreds of cars may be seen here for this pur- 
pose almost . any time. The general offices and 
shops of both roads are here, and the population 
is almost entirely composed of railroad men. 
Strangers will be surprised to find in this out-of- 
the-way spot a hotel which, though not very 
large, will compare favorably in every way with 
those to be found in any of the large cities of the 
Union. The accommodation is of the best, and 
the table will satisfy the most fastidious epicure. 
The Indian Agent has his headquarters here, 
and numbers of Indians are to be found here at 
all times, lounging round or sitting down to a 
game of " Piute Poker." They are all inveterate 
gamblers, both bucks and squaws, and some 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



IOI 



of them oftenplay for high stakes. Others will 
be selling buckskin gloves and mocassins to any 
whom they can induce to become purchasers. 
The two railroads again separate here, our route 
continuing north on the Utah Northern. 

The country widens out here, but is always 
bounded by mountains, and before long we reach 
Ross Fork. This is a place much frequented by 
the Indians of the reservation, for it is here that 
they receive their supplies from the Agent, and 
the Indian schools are also at this place. In 
addition to receiving the usual common-school 
education, they are also instructed in agriculture, 
and they s^em to appreciate the benefits thus 
conferred upon them. Many of them have farms 
of their own, which are excellently cultivated, 
and their crops would do credit to a born and 
bred farmer. They are allowed to travel free on 
all the railroads, but have to be satisfied with the 
rather uninviting accommodation offered by the 
top of a freight car or the platform of a baggage 
car or caboose ; and they can be met traveling 
in this way hundreds of miles away from their 
reservation. The young bucks enjoy this mode 
of travel, and they are riding nearly all the time. 
Encumbered as they are with their heavy 
blankets, they will jump from a train when at a 
speed that few experienced railroad men would 
care to risk. Crowds of them will board a train 



A detective's experience 



at Ross Fork, and when it attains its highest 
rate of speed they will gracefully jump off the 
foot ladders with as little apparent difficulty as 
if they were getting off a house door-step, and 
their bright-hued blankets fluttering after them 
give them an appearance both novel and 
original. 

After an uneventful trip of about eleven miles 
we arrive at Blackfoot, which is our destination 
for the present. Blackfoot is the county seat 
of Bingham county, and additional importance is 
given to it from the fact that the United States 
Court for the Third Judicial District is held here, 
being presided over by the Hon. J. B. Hayes as 
judge. All United States prisoners for the dis- 
trict are tried here. There is a stage line to 
Challis, Bay Horse and other points lying to the 
northwest of it. It is also the supply depot and 
shipping point for several important mining 
camps in the neighborhood. Placer mining is 
carried on here to some extent along the banks 
of Snake river, which is about a mile from the 
center of town. The Insane Asylum is located 
here, and occupies a very fine building on the 
outskirts, which has been erected during the past 
year. Previous to this the patients were sent to 
Salem, Oregon. There are in the Blackfoot Asy- 
lum about seventy-five or a hundred inmates at the 
present time. I might add that the United States 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



163 



Land Office is here; and all these circumstances 
combine to give the town an importance it would 
not otherwise have. The population is almost 
entirely Gentile (indeed we are now nearly on 
the northern confines of the Mormon realm), and 
is made up principally of industrious and push- 
ing" Americans, whose energy and business tact 
have built up the place, and an air of well-to-do 
contentment pervades it which is quite foreign to 
Mormon communities. 




1 64 



A detective's experience 



CHAPTER XVII. 

A Female Champion — Red Pepper vs. Warrants. 

On one occasion a Deputy in Franklin met 
with an unexpected and unpleasant reception. 
He was there for the purpose of arresting the 
head of the family, and in order to prevent it 
one of the girls threw a lot of red pepper into 
his eyes, which, of course, blinded him for the 
time being. In the meantime the old man took 
advantage of the confusion and made his escape 
through a window. Many persons admired the 
pluck of the girl and the matter would probably 
have been dropped as far as she was concerned, 
were it not for the way in which the Mormon 
papers commented upon it. They spoke of it 
in terms which were calculated to bring it into 
common use as a means of frustrating the officers, 
and it was decided to stop the practice in its 
infancy by prosecuting this girl. 

The warrant for her arrest was placed in my 
hands, and although not a very palatable job, 
there was no alternative but to proceed and serve 
it if possible. To that end I took atrip to Frank- 
lin, and on arriving there I learned that she had 
left that part of the country and was working in 
a large dairy at Church Island, Utah. Procur- 
ing a team and driver I started for that place, 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



I6 5 



which was about thirty-five miles distant, and but 
brief mention need be made of the journey. We 
soon reached the territorial boundary line, and 
right here some interesting information can be 
given regarding it. The ranchers, through whose 
property the line runs, have made a practice of 
I building their cabins so that one or more of them 
will be on each side of the line, and consequently 
in different territories. By this shrewd scheme 
they have so far escaped arrest and conviction, 
and have been enabled to defy and laugh at the 
existing laws. Proceeding with our journey, we at 
last reached Logan, where we had to stay for the 
night. After supper at the hotel I took a walk 
around the town preparatory to retiring, my 
driver preferring to stay with his team. As I 
proposed proceeding on my way before any one 
was up, I had a lunch prepared before I went to 
bed, and next morning, taking it with me I went 
to the stable where I had left my companion and 
the team. Shortly after leaving Logan we came 
to a succession of sloughs which greatly retarded 
our progress. Each one we came to seemed to 
be worse than the one before it. We had only 
a light spring wagon, and at times the water 
would come in over the tail-board. The Mor- 
mons seemed to be, in this case, especially en- 
titled to be called " God's chosen people" for 
some special providence seemed to befriend them 



1 66 A detective's experience 

while working against us. I was strongly 
reminded of the words of the old hymn: 

"Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea; 
Jehovah has triumphed, his people are free." 

As the ponies would sink in the slough sometimes 
up to their necks. 

In the center of the very worst slough of all, 
the double-tree broke, and the ponies, finding 
themselves freed from the wagon, made a great 
plunge forward, pulling my companion, who held 
onto the reins, over the dashboard. My mind 
again went back to the old Sunday-school days 
many years ago when we used to sing : 

" And all his proud horsemen are dashed in the sea. " 

The driver had reached the bank, and a most 
pitiable though ludicrous spectacle he presented. 
His face was completely smeared with the black 
swamp-mud, his teeth chattered like castanets, 
while the water dripped in streams from his cloth- 
ing. How to get " ashore" myself was the next 
question, and, as it seemed to me, a not very easy 
one to answer. We discussed the situation for a 
time, and after divesting myself of some of my 
clothing, I plunged in and finally got on terra 
firma once more. We succeeded in rigging a 
purchase on the end of the tongue, and by dint 
of hard work and patience we got the wagon out 
of this " slough of despond." This was, I am 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



happy to say, the last mud-hole we had to en- 
counter, and we soon reached the neighborhood 
of the dairy which was bur objective point. These 
dairies are peculiar institutions and deserve brief 
description. Two or three ranchers will form a 
partnership and agree upon one particular ranche 
as the location of the proposed dairy. The cows 
owned by each are then turned into the general 
herd, with as many more from other ranches as 
can be handled with convenience and profit. The 
use or hire of these rented cows are paid for in 
cheese, a percentage of which goes to the owner 
of each of the cows that are milked. 

The location of the particular dairy I was in 
search of was not known to me, but I had an 
accurate description of the young woman. I 
therefore resolved to take each one in turn and, 
while taking observations, to disguise my true 
errand if possible. The first one called at was 
on the banks of Bear River, and on entering I 
found a young woman working up curds in a 
large vat. We were soon engaged in pleasant 
conversation, and she very kindly explained the 
different processes the milk had to undergo ; 
showed me the presses and the stacks of golden 
cheese. She was very pleasant, gave me some 
cream to drink and asked which way we were 
traveling. Replying that we were going North, 



i68 



A detective's experience 



I asked her how, in her opinion, it would pay to 
take a load of cheese up to Montana. I then 
wound up by asking her the question I was more 
interested in just then than any other — the where- 
abouts of the girl I was in search of. I pretended 
that she was a cousin of mine and was supposed 
to be working in a cheese factory on Bear River. 
She was, I must confess, a shrewd woman ; she 
looked up at me suspiciously, said she knew no 
one of that name, and then became "as dumb as 
an oyster." I had previously looked through 
the factory and I knew the object of my search 
was not there, so I hastily went to the house, but 
did not find any one answering the description 
given me. As I went further on in the direction 
of another dairy, I met a little black-eyed damsel 
I had noticed in the house I just left. As she 
passed me I remarked : " What's the matter, little 
one ? " She fairly took my breath away when, 
instead of replying quietly or passing on 
altogether, she commenced to abuse me roundly, 
but in her excitement she told me all I wanted to 
know ; and when I went to the house indicated 
the first person I met was the girl I was in search 
of. I had no difficulty in identifying her from 
the description given me. When I read the 
warrant to her she burst into tears. I endeav- 
ored to cheer her up, and finally, after wishing 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



1 69 



her friends good-by, she accompanied me to 
Oxford. She was tried and let off with a repri- 
mand. 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

How, When and Where Mormons Get Converts — 
Mormon Miracles — Butcher Knives vs. Mormon 
Missio7taries — Early Marriages to Build Up the 
Kingdom. 

In view of the fact that a great deal has been 
written about Mormonism, exposing in a great 
measure what is reprehensible in it, it is a matter 
of surprise to many that instead of decaying it 
has steadily increased in numbers and influence ; 
and I have been often asked where and by what 
means they continue to make converts to their 
religion. 

The Mormon ranks are augmented principally 
from foreign countries — Wales and Denmark 
perhaps supply the greater number of con- 
verts, and are closely followed by England, 
Switzerland and Sweden. There is a light 
sprinkling of Scotch and Germans, but Mormon- 
ism is not in favor with the French or Irish. In 
all my travels among them I never met a French 
Mormon, and but two who were Irish. I may 
add that I knew one Jew who was a polygamist, 
but he died about a year ago. It is safe to say 
that there are no negroes at all among them. 

Among the Welsh of the Malad Valley I num- 
bered a great many friends who were apostate 



AMQNG THE MORMONS. I/I 

Mormons, and to them I am indebted for a great 
deal of valuable information on this point. 
These people, looking back through the experi- 
ence they have had, now wonder how they 
were ever blind enough to believe in such a 
religion at all. By them I have been told of the 
remarkable meetings the Mormon agents used 
to hold years ago in Wales when they were in 
search of fresh recruits. The gatherings always 
took place at night, often in out of the way 
spots in the mountains where they were the 
least likely to be interrupted by inquisitive 
strangers. It is a well-known fact that the 
Welsh, as a people, are very religious, and in the 
old days they were inclined to be superstitious. 
They were brought to believe in the doctrines 
of Brigham Young without much difficulty. The 
principal inducements offered to these simple 
people were, a piece of land and the prospects 
of independence for the men, and the women 
were taught to believe that they might marry 
and have children without shame. The favorite 
vices of the sensual were encouraged as religious 
observances, and the point was made that the 
man who had the most children was the most 
honored, for he did the most to strengthen the 
Kingdom. These agents or missionaries occa- 
sionally worked pretended m iracles, inorder to 
satisfy doubts and to impress the superstitious, 



172 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



but sometimes a skeptical " heathen " would get 
into the meeting and there are many ludicrous 
stories told of how their fraud was exposed. 

On one occasion they produced a man 
deformed by a great hump on his back, which 
they said would be removed by the method 
known as " laying on of hands." The subject 
was taken behind a curtain, which, unfortunately 
for the Saintly performers, did not quite reach to 
the floor, and the " laying on" was so vigor- 
ously proceeded with that the expectant audience 
could plainly see a stream of sawdust flowing 
behind the scenes. Of course after being 
relieved of his wooden deformity the patient 
appeared as straight as an arrow. On another 
occasion spirits were to move through the 
audience in a dimly-lighted room. A lady 
seeing one of these ethereal beings within reach, 
picked it up and carried it home with her. On 
examination and dissection it proved to be a 
very lively frog caged in a white paper bag. 
Their " miracles " were always clumsily per- 
formed and easily transparent to any one of 
average intelligence. I was told of another 
so-called miracle of recent date, by a Mormon 
teacher and representative of some Mormon 
publication, named Cowley. He said they had 
been baptizing a number of converts in Ken- 
tucky and in the evening were holding a meet- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



173 



ing at the house of one of the members. The 
mother of a little baby, which was lying in a 
crib near by, had been baptized that day, and 
one of her relatives who was opposed to the 
faith turned toward the infant and said, sneer- 
ingly : "So you're a little Mormon, are you ? " 
I have Brother Cowley's authority that the baby 
at once distinctly replied " I am." 

Notwithstanding the set-backs they must have 
received in the failure of some of their clumsy 
legerdemain they made a great many converts ; 
and as the policy was to get them out to Utah as 
soon as possible, they had then and still have 
what is known as the " Perpetual Emigration 
Fund," which was for the purpose of assisting 
those to the " Promised Land" who were unable 
to pay their own passage. Poverty, no matter 
how extreme, was no bar to emigration; they 
were gladly helped out to Utah, and when set- 
tled down were expected to refund the money 
advanced them. Each emigrant meant more tith- 
ing for the Church, so that after all the "P. E. 
Fund" promoters were not so disinterested as 
they might at first seem. " More women " seemed 
to be the universal cry in Utah some years ago, 
and it was positively surprising how eagerly 
women from all classes of society embraced the 
faith. Mothers gladly gave up their daughters 
for what they considered a sacred cause, and 



174 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



taking advantage of every "boom" in the supply 
of intending converts, the missionaries invariably 
worked their ministrations on the best -looking 
young women they could find. As a consequence 
thousands fell willing victims to a mirage which 
led them eventually to degradation, and irre- 
trievably wrecked lives that would otherwise have 
been happy and useful. 

The Mormons occasionally encounter unex- 
pected opposition in their own dominions from 
some of the people they had induced to emigrate. 
One case is particularly recalled to mind, as I 
know the parties well and can vouch for the facts 
related. They were an English couple, and the 
husband had several relatives in Mormondom. 
She did not care much for the faith, and they 
made her life wretched for years by the impor- 
tunate efforts they made to induce her to come 
into full fellowship with them. They finally 
worked her up to such a pitch that, as she states, 
she would have looked on death as a happy 
release. One night a lot of relatives were ex- 
pected to come up, for the avowed purpose of 
compelling her to comply with their demands ; 
and she was equally determined to resist if her 
life was to be the penalty. She procured a large 
knife and concealed it about her person, so that 
she could make the seance interesting if circum- 
stances demanded it ; and when her unwelcome 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



175 



visitors arrived they found her calm and collected 
and inclined to combat their arguments with logic. 
This course would probably have been success- 
ful, but for the interference of one of the party 
who had his eye on her pretty daughter for his 
third venture. Should the mother prove obdu- 
rate his chances of course were nowhere, so he 
counseled harsh means. This was too much for 
the hot blood of the Englishwoman, and drawing 
her butcher-knife she made a lunge at him which 
would have made an end of him had he been a 
trifle nearer to her. She then defied the whole 
pack of them, and told them that her mind was 
made up, and that death was preferable to Mor- 
monism. As an agreeable sequel she is now to 
be found enjoying life on a nice little ranche, which 
they own and have paid for in full. Her husband 
and family accompany her regularly to the Meth- 
odist church, and he can be always depended 
upon as a bitter opponent of Mormonism. 

Converts do not always find this a "land flow- 
ing with milk and honey." Some of them have 
to undergo considerable hardship and privation. 
I recall one case at Franklin. The father had 
been called away on a mission just as they were 
getting big enough to work. They were often 
put on very short allowance; and to use their 
own expression it was " jack rabbit straight" for 
months at a time. It was in the early days of 



176 



A detective's experience 



Mormonism and no employment of any kind 
could be had. One of the so-called revelations 
claimed by the Mormon prophets is the one 
which bears the title " Words of Wisdom," and 
strongly recommended the Saints to abstain from 
indulging- in tea, coffee, wine or in fact anything 
that would be calculated to divert any of their 
superfluous cash from the coffers of the Church. 
Of course the cheaper the faithful ones managed 
to live, the more they were enabled to give in 
the shape of tithing. There was not much more 
to be gained to the Church from the family men- 
tioned above. The family had emgrated from 
England and the father had not only embraced 
the religion, but had given up nearly all he had 
to the cause. The oldest sons can well remem- 
ber everything connected with their advent here, 
and the thoughts of what they have had to un- 
dergo have made them the most bitter opponents 
of Mormonism, and they are of course hated and 
feared accordingly. 

Mormons cover crime, and will always 
endeavor to justify it by the preposterous claim 
that they are "doing God's work." It is only 
in the past two years that a man (a Gentile) 
named Joseph Durbin mysteriously disappeared. 
It was rumored that he had been unduly intimate 
with a Mormon girl, and many believe to this 
day that he was foully dealt with. To my per- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



177 



sonal knowledge he had no reason for leaving 
the country surreptitiously, as he had quite a 
sum of money due him from parties for whom he 
had been working all the summer in Montana. 
Though there is no positive proof of even his 
death, yet all the circumstances would seem to 
point that way, more especially as the Saint in 
whose company he was last seen was known to 
have owed him considerable money. I have sat 
and listened to the very party in whose company 
poor Durbin was last seen, when he called down 
curses upon the United States government for 
the efforts it was just beginning to put forth to 
rid the territories of the foul blot which had been 
laid on the National escutcheon. He derided 
all measures taken in that direction, asking why 
polygamy had not been suppressed in its infancy, 
and in conclusion howled and shrieked that per- 
secution was now in vain — that it was now "Too 
late! Too late! " He went on to tell his hearers 
of the progress the cause was making in other 
lands. They had missionaries everywhere, even 
in far-away India, though it would hardly seem 
possible that they would have many converts 
from'that distant clime. The whole of Europe 
is overrun by their wily agents, as are also old 
and New Mexico, the Sandwich Islands, New 
Zealand, and they have not neglected Australia 
and South America. I have since taken the 



i;8 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



trouble to investigate the statements made by this 
man, and have found them substantially true, and 
I have been astounded at the extent and system of 
their ramifications. They sometimes get a very 
bad set-back. Most of my readers will recollect, 
as one instance, how some Tennesseeans took 
the law into their own hands, and gave short 
shrift to a couple of missionaries. One of the 
Saints managed to get back alive, bringing with 
him the dead bodies of his two companions. 
He was the hero of the hour, and the deceased 
brethren were probably canonized. 

As has been before intimated in this narrative, 
the " Josephites " (disciples of Joseph Smith) 
are at enmity with the " Brighamites " (Brig- 
ham Young's followers), and are bitterly opposed 
to polygamy. One of the leading lights of the 
Josephite section of Mormons is Elder A. J. 
Anthony, who on one occasion was preaching in 
a town where the other faction were holding a 
Conference. A son of John Taylor (Brigham 
Young's successor) happened to be there, and 
gave Anthony the lie regarding some statements 
he had made. The Elder, who is a perfect gen- 
tleman, challenged any man they chose to put 
forward to a friendly public debate, and said he 
would use no arguments but those the Book 
of Mormon gave him. They were afraid to 
meet him, however, and made the excuse that 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



179 



he was not a man of good reputation, though 
the Elder is well-known as a man of irreproach- 
able character, as well as one of the best-posted 
men in the country. This young Taylor has 
preached some very treasonable doctrines, and 
has used his best endeavors to bring on blood- 
shed. He declared, in one discourse, that he was 
the child of a polygamist marriage, that he 
believed in polygamy himself, and that as soon 
as he got ready he intended to take another wife. 
He went on to say that not only he, but thous- 
ands more would fight for it until the valleys ran 
knee-deep in blood. This particular sermon was 
accurately reported, and as such sentiments were 
not calculated to make Gentile women and child- 
ren feel safe, it was determined to put a stop to 
it if possible. He was accordingly arrested and 
charged with treason, but by some means or 
other he managed to escape punishment. 

In this remarkable social system it would seem 
that youth is not looked upon as a bar to the en- 
joyment of conjugal bliss. I was fully convinced 
-of this by what I saw one day at Richmond, 
Utah. A lot of youngsters were playing at 
marbles, when a young girl from one of the 
houses near by cried out, " Here, Jim, come and 
nurse the baby. " Jim at once dropped his play 
and went in the direction of the house. I sup- 
posed that his sister had been calling him to 



180 A detective's experience 

nurse his little baby brother. Hearing the play- 
mates whom Jim had deserted laughing about 
the circumstance, I made some inquiries and 
found that Jim was the happy father and the 
young girl the mother of this fine baby. He 
was not quite sixteen years old, and she looked 
about the same age. It must be admitted that 
this youthful couple had commenced to assist in 
" building up Zion " early in life, and there is no 
telling what valuable work Jim will accomplish in 
this direction before he is called from earth, as 
he has been so successful in his first venture. 

While on the subject of marriage, I will give a 
little incident that occurred at the trial of a 
Mink Creek polygamist at Blackfoot. In his 
defense he did not deny that he was sealed to 
the woman, but averred that it was for eternity 
only, and that outside of bringing her a load of 
wood or something of the kind at times, he had 
no intercourse with her. Now the Mormons do 
not acknowledge that there is any legal or bind- 
ing marriage outside of their church, yet this 
particular polygamist (a Dane by-the-by,) in- 
sisted that he was only celestially married, and 
seemed to be taking great credit to himself for 
thus securing the old lady's spiritual welfare. 
The United States attorney is somewhat of a 
wag, and drew out of the Dane how old the lady 
was, that she was a widow, and that her first 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



181 



husband was a Mormon. " Well," concluded 
the attorney, " I think you will have a fight on 
your hands when you reach glory, if you happen 
to run up against her first husband when you 
promenade the golden streets with this lady on 
your arm. " 



182 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Harvey Dixon Once More " Held at Bay" 

It will be remembered that in a previous 
chapter an unsuccessful attempt was made to 
capture a polygamist and would-be fire-eater 
named Harvey Dixon. I had by no means for- 
gotten, and it was only a pressure of business 
that had prevented my going after him again. 
Taking with me a young fellow whom I shall 
call " Jack," and who claimed to be able to iden- 
tify Dixon, we first went to Dixon's place of 
residence. After we had made a thorough but 
fruitless search of both houses, we concluded to 
go on to a place called Five Mile, where another 
man lived for whom I had a warrant. We found 
his house occupied by another family, and were 
told that he had moved to Snake River, where 
there is a large colony of Saints under the minis- 
trations of Bishop Ricks. This saintly bishop is 
an old Danite, and one of Brigham Young's 
" Blood Atoners," and has been in hiding for the 
past eighteen months. He is said to be up in 
the mountains with a gang of polygamists get- 
ting out railroad ties, which are then floated down 
Snake River. Fate seemed to be against us in 
the case of Dixon ; so we returned in the direc- 
tion of Oxford and soon arrived at the " Rock 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



House, already mentioned in these pages. Here 
we found several wagons formed in camp in the 
yard back of the house, and among the campers 
I noticed a man who seemed to answer the 
description I had of Dixon. I drew the boy's 
attention to him, but he said it was not Dixon, 

adding, "that is naming a party with 

whom I was well acquainted and whom I would 
have recognized. This satisfied me that I had 
to depend on the description I had of my man, 
and as the campers were regarding our move- 
ments very closely I concluded to interview them. 
We had no sooner started in their direction than 
Dixon (for it proved to be Dixon after all) 
mounted his horse and rode slowly down the 
field toward the horses belonging to the camp- 
ers, and began rounding them up. I gave the 
boy a revolver, told him to dismount, and if the 
party in the field should come out that way to 
hold him at all hazards. I then endeavored to 
get within range of Dixon myself, so that I could 
get a shot at him in case he did not halt when 
called on to do so. There was a high wire fence 
where I was which seemed to go round the entire 
ranche, and as this prevented me from getting 
in, I argued of course that the same obstacle 
would serve to prevent Dixon from getting out. 
Unfortunately, however, I had failed to notice 
that one side was formed of poles with no 



A detective's experience 



wire, and it was for this part of it that Dixon 
now made, more in the direction of where Jack 
was guarding- the gap and taking observations 
of all that was going on. Dixon put his horse, 
which was a magnificent animal, straight at the 
fence and knocked it down with ease. Jack 
mounted at once and went in pursuit, while I 
brought up the rear some distance behind them. 
Dixon had the advantage, as his horse was 
fresh, while on the other hand Jack was a lighter 
weight and riding bare-backed made a very good 
second. It was miry ground where I had 
started, and it took me some minutes to get a 
solid footing, but as my horse was good for a 
twenty-mile galop under favorable circum- 
stances, and as I was only a quarter of a mile 
in the rear, I hoped at least that I would be in 
at the surrender. But the best laid plans are 
often frustrated. Dixon, who was raised in the 
neighborhood and knew every foot of the road, 
now made for what is known as Deep Creek. 
This was a stream with high and steep banks, 
and could not possibly be crossed by any one 
not acquainted with the regular fording places. 
My poor animal was heavily handicapped in the 
race, but I was near enough to see Dixon and 
Jack disappear from view for a moment, and then 
coming up on the other side of the creek in 
" full cry" as before. I had the misfortune to 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



IS/ 



strike the gulch in the very worst place, and the 
bank of the creek, which was here only held up 
by grass roots, gave way, and horse and rider 
went rolling down to the bottom. There were 
no bones broken, but as the horse was winded 
and slightly lame it was out of the question to 
continue the chase without a fresh horse. I 
accordingly made for a Gentile ranche in the 
neighborhood with this end in view, but the 
owner was away and there were no horses to be 
found. I was very hungry, and as my horse was 
used up, there was nothing for it but to go home, 
and leave Dixon to the care of Jack for the time 
being. Our chase had been in somewhat of a 
circular direction, and I was glad to find that I 
was only six miles away from home. I had no 
doubt at all that my companion would eventually 
overtake Dixon and bring him, so I made the 
best of my way home. 

Before I had time to start out with a fresh 
horse, Jack arrived and gave me the following 
account of the chase after I was obliged to relin- 
quish it. The pursuit was continued at high 
speed all through the foot-hills, for a distance of 
fully fifteen miles. Jack finally got near enough 
his man to compel him to throw up his hands, 
which Dixon quickly did, as he was unarmed. 
He was induced to ride with him in the direction 
of Oxford. After they had gone a few miles 



i88 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



they came to the house of "Old Bill," who has 
been mentioned before as the father of Dixon's 
second wife. Dixon made an appeal to him for 
help, and was provided with a fresh horse, and 
the old man and his three sons held Jack at bay- 
while Dixon made good his escape. This was 
the last of him as far as I was concerned, for he 
left the neighborhood and went somewhere in 
the Salt River country, which he probably found 
more congenial, as he was still there the last I 
heard of him. 

As "Old Bill" had given us considerable 
trouble on more than one occasion, it was decided 
to pay a little attention to his case. A warrant 
was accordingly issued, and Bill was gathered in 
with all possible haste, and put under bonds to 
answer to the charge of aiding and abetting a 
criminal to escape. When I asked him some 
weeks afterward what had become of his son-in- 
law, Dixon, he said: 

" Oh, the d d cur is a runnin' yet prob- 

erbly," 



AMONG THE MORMONS, • 



CHAPTER XX. . 

Trip to Paris in Midwinter — Father takes His Own 
Daughter into His Harem as Wife — A Good Haul. 

The authorities were beginning to realize 
that there was considerable truth in the old say- 
ing, " When the cat's away, the mice will play," 
and orders were received to give Paris a stirring 
up, as it had been left undisturbed for a long 
time, considering its unsavory polygamous repu- 
tation. The Mormons, and especially the polyg- 
amous portion of them, bear a strong resem- 
blance to rats, mice and prairie-dogs in some 
things, notably in their actions at the approach 
of danger, for they seem to instinctively seek 
shelter in holes. And well may they, for some 
of the offenses committed by them are repulsive 
in the extreme. 

I have interspersed my anecdotes hap-hazard, 
so to speak, or just as they came to my recollec- 
tion. One occurs to me just now, which was 
vouched for to me by good reliable men, who 
had been among the Mormons for years, but 
had become apostates. A brute in human form, 
living up in the mountains far from any human 
habitation, had a grown-up daughter, who, of 
course, had been brought up in the greatest 
ignorance. This old fiend, desiring to go 



190 A detective's experience 

into polygamy, determined to take, his own 
daughter in as his second wife. She was 
taken into Salt Lake City and was there regu- 
larly sealed to her father in the Endowment 
House, her name having been changed for the 
purpose of marriage. I do not mean to say that 
the Church authorities were aware of all th e 
circumstances in this case, but I do mean to say 
that a system that renders such a terrible thing 
possible, is an outrage on civilization, and that 
ks lawmakers and lawgivers are criminally neg- 
ligent, and should be at all times closely watched 
and brought to strict account for their misdeeds. 
The old man who figured in this disgusting 
affair has since gone to a higher tribunal, but he 
was in good fellowship with the Mormon Church 
up to the time of his death. 

I found that the sleighing was good all the way 
to Paris, and as this would probably be the last 
shaking up the Parisians would get until court 
convened in the spring, it was decided to give 
them a good one. We therefore decided to go 
in sufficient force to enable us to surround four 
houses at a time. We secured a light bob-sleigh 
with a long, deep wagon-bed on it. To insure 
secrecy, an unoccupied house on a ranche of 
mine was chosen as a rendezvous, and all the 
boys were notified to be on hand with blankets 
and whatever else was needed for the trip. I got 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



191 



what provisions would be needed till we could 
get a fresh supply, and off we started, a truly 
merry crew in the wagon-bed, and I seated 
beside the driver. The snow was pretty light 
along the valley, so we took it slowly, especially 
as the team would probably have to travel fully 
two hundred miles before returning. Our party 
consisted of seven men, who with their blankets, 
etc., made a pretty good load. Add to this our 
commissariat department, or "grub outfit," as 
the boys called it, and several sacks of oats for 
the horses, and it will be admitted that the team 
was very fairly weighted. As we were passing 
through a long canyon about fourteen miles from 
where we started, the driver remarked what a 
"great note" it would be if the sleigh broke 
down and we were all obliged to walk back. The 
Saints would have at once called it a dispensa- 
tion of Providence. "By golly," he added, 
" something has got its work in on us now;" and 
we found that one of the runners was damaged 
so that repairs were absolutely necessary at 
once. We woke the boys up, and having cut a 
few braces, made such repairs as would enable 
us to proceed. We were very anxious to get 
out of this pass, which in some places was so 
narrow as to preclude the possibility of our pass- 
ing anything coming in the opposite direction, 
and we wanted to get where the pass would be 



192 A detective's experience 



wider before we chose a place for our breakfast- 
camp. When every one was comfortably seated 
we once more started, but we had not proceeded 
very far when we came to a piece of road that 
was worse than the average. The sleigh gave 
a little lurch, then a couple of rolls, and in less 
time than it takes to relate, we found ourselves 
spilled out in good shape ; the wagon-bed, of 
course, becoming detached from the runners. It 
was now snowing very hard, and while some of 
us put the sleigh to rights others prepared break- 
fast. 

When we were again ready to proceed, we 
concluded to walk until we came to better roads, 
and we left the driver to run the sleigh alone. 
We continued in this way until we reached 
" Rocky Pass," when we were dismayed to dis- 
cover that we had lost half of one runner, but 
the iron shoe or band remained and this was all 
that had saved the rig from going to pieces long 
before. As the upright that held the bolster 
was liable to slip off the shoe at any moment, we 
began to feel as if we would have to give up the 
trip. It was over forty miles to a blacksmith's 
shop, and even could we have reached there, we 
would probably- be discovered and the news of 
our coming carried to Paris in advance, thus 
giving ample time to any one to hide. There 
was an old Mormon rancher in the valley not far 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



193 



from where we were who was quite handy with 
tools, as it afterward turned out, and to his place 
we now wended our weary way with as much 
haste as possibe. He knew me and others of 
the party, so I introduced the remainder of 
the party as gentlemen in pursuit of pleasure, 
whom we were taking up on the Little Blackfoot 
river for a hunt. We told him how we had 
broken down and asked him if he thought he 
could fix us up so that we could proceed. After 
looking at the relic of what had only that morn- 
ing been a pretty good-looking sleigh, he said 
he would do what he could for us, and lifting the 
box off, we soon had him working away; and by 
using a couple of wagon tires for braces, in about 
three hours we had a sleigh that we thought 
would carry us to Paris. (And sure enough it 
did, for we only broke down once afterward, 
when we managed to mend the broken part 
ourselves.) 

After a hastily prepared dinner by one of the 
boys we once more started, and nearly came to 
grief within a couple of hundred yards of the 
house. We had to cross Cottonwood Creek, 
and as there was a couple of feet jump from the 
banks to the water owing to the thick ice on the 
side, the sleigh, being somewhat top-heavy, 
tipped up and very nearly went over, but as the 
lesson of the morning had not been forgotten, 



194 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



we all hung on to the upper side, and righting it 
we got through all right. We had chosen a 
ranche on the banks of Bear River some twelve 
miles further on as our stopping-place for the 
night, and pushing ahead we reached there 
about eight o'clock. I knocked at the door and 
explained what we would like, and things being 
satisfactorily arranged, we unhitched, and bring- 
ing in our blankets we were soon seated round 
a cheerful fire that blazed away in a most satis- 
factory manner. While we chatted at the fire 
one of the party was preparing supper, and 
before long all hands were seated round the 
table with appetites sharpened to a keen edge 
by exposure and a hard day's work. What with 
the wreck and the inroads we had ourselves 
made on our supplies, it was clear that we 
would have to replenish it long before getting 
to Paris. But we did not borrow any trouble 
on that account, for Soda Springs was on our 
way, and I was well acquainted there. After 
supper we sat round the fire toasting our shins 
and comparing notes, but in a little while the 
landlord is seen to yawn once or twice ; so we 
spread blankets and robes on the floor and are 
soon fast asleep. We got up and had breakfast 
about three in the morning and by daylight were 
many miles away - on the road to Soda 
Springs. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



195 



This day was a regular " stinger," and for 
about twenty miles we are exposed to the fury 
of the blast, and in many places we have to 
walk ahead and break through the snow-drifts 
for the horses. We found that traveling this 
route in winter was not a very pleasant job. Not 
a house breaks the monotony of the journey for 
fully twenty miles, while the wind whistled and 
screeched over the plain as if defying one to pro- 
ceed any further. At last, after floundering 
along we come to Five Mile Point, so called 
because it is just five miles from Soda Springs, 
This is where the old emigrant roads separate, 
one leading to Oregon and the other to Cali- 
fornia. There are also to be seen here the 
graves of several emigrants who died here many 
years ago on their way to seek their fortunes in 
some Western Eldorado. There is nothing to 
indicate whose graves they are, and the oldest 
present inhabitants of that section say that they 
found them there when they came here. One 
of the longest snow-sheds on the Oregon Short 
Line is built at this point, and in some measure 
serves to make it look less desolate. The cold 
was now intense and we were benumbed ; we 
had to run to keep warm, but as the town of 
Soda Springs loomed up in the distance our 
spirits loomed up accordingly. I had intended 
camping out, but the weather put that out of the 



196 A detective's experience 

question, and I was now somewhat puzzled how 
to dispose of so large a party without creating 
too much curiosity on the part of the inhabitants. 
As none of us dare show up, I wrote a note and 
gave it to the driver and told him to give it to 
a certain friend of mine, to whom I explained the 
condition of affairs and asked him to help us out 
if possible. In a short time we were on the way 
to the comfortable house of my friend, where we 
passed a very pleasant evening, and all slept in 
good warm beds, which, I need not add, were duly 
appreciated after what we had already gone 
through. 

By day-break the next morning we were on 
the road again, and if this road appeared dreary 
the last time I went over it, it was far more so 
now, and as the wind struck one it penetrated 
through wraps and all. I, being the only one in 
the party who had made the trip before, acted as 
guide, and finding it too cold to be sitting in the 
sleigh we all got out and walked for miles at a 
time. At last the sun came out and we stopped 
in a little glen where there was plenty of wood 
and water, and making a fire we cooked a dinner 
that no hungry man could fail to enjoy — " Jack 
rabbit " on toast — and if the hungry reader does 
not think the dish was acceptable let him try it. 
After hitching up again we had along climb, and 
after going on a few miles we passed through 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



197 



Georgetown ; keeping on our way we strike Mont- 
pelier about dusk passing through the old and 
new towns. The last time I had made the trip 
to Paris I was almost blind, through the acci- 
dent already mentioned, and as the roads were 
covered with snow now I had the greatest dif- 
ficulty in finding my way; there was a divergence 
of the roads and I was unwilling to ask any one 
the right way. At last we stumbled on the road 
leading to the Bear River bridge and Paris, 
When we got to the river it was late, so all hands 
busied themselves in getting supper ready and 
attending to the horses. We soon had a good 
fire, and a supper consisting of elk steak, bread 
and butter, and hot coffee was done full justice 
to, and soon put us all in a good humor, though 
the temperature was a long way below zero. 
While some sat round the fire, others went and 
enjoyed a nap, and about two in the morning we 
slid out for Paris, which was now about ten; miles 
distant. The road was comparatively good for 
the remainder of the journey, and as we had 
little or no difficulty in finding our way we reached 
our destination about four in the morning. 

We had in our party one man who had been 
raised in Paris, and it was not long before we had 
some of our houses picketed. After all the trouble 
we had in getting here, we were determined that 



198 A DETECTIVE'S experience 



this raid should give the Parisians something to 
date from. 

We commenced with the residence of Brother 
Budge, a canny Scotchman, the happy husband 
of three, if not more, wives, and undoubtedly the 
most prominent Mormon in Idaho. He is 
looked up to as an oracle, and his loss would 
fall as heavily on the Saints as would the loss of 
George Q. Cannon or Taylor. He is a shrewd 
business man and politician, is wealthy, and the 
father of more children than I care to guess at. 
His residence is a roomy and handsome one, 
and is 'elegantly furnished. I had an interview 
with his wives when I called, and I must say 
that they were so superior to many of the ladies 
of the faith I had hitherto met that I was agree- 
ably surprised. Brother Budge was reported to 
be holding a meeting at a saw-mill up in the 
country, twenty miles away. We made a 
thorough search, however, and failed to find our 
man anywhere. We next called to see Brother 
Stuckie, and as he is also away gathering tithes, 
at Dingle Dell, it begins to look as if the " Lords 
Annointed" were in luck, or that they had been 
notified of our advent. 

Leaving Stuckie's palatial abode, we proceed 
for about a hundred yards to the squalid home 
of Mrs. Stuckie No. 2. This might be called a 
descent from the sublime to the ridiculous, for 



AMONG THE MORMON'S. 



199 



this little cabin is a great contrast to the magnifi- 
cent home of Mrs. Stuckie No. 1. Here we find 
the second wife surrounded by a large family of 
small children, while in the other house the lady 
appeared to be all alone. After suggesting to 
the more humble lady that she should make a 
kick for better quarters, we divided our party up 
and proceeded separately. We left the driver 
in charge of the sleigh, and as we made arrests 
we brought our prisoners there. The first capt- 
ure was Brother Duffin. We then called on 
Brother Wright. On going to his house and 
knocking at the door, we were answered by a 
female with a strong English accent. More for 
fun than anything else, I had decided to speak 
in broken English, so when I heard, " Is that 
you, Brother Linglot? " I at once said, " Yes, 
mum, dot vos me. I fancied I heard her poke 
Brother Wright in the ribs, as she said: 
"Chawles, Brother Linglot is at the door and 
wants to see you." " Yes, and I want to see 
you as quick as possible, Chawles, ,, I said. 
Finding by the different tone of my voice that I 
was bad medicine for "Chawles," she said, '"E 
isn't 'ere." " Too late," said I. " You have 
given it away. Open the door; I've got a war- 
rant here for 'Chawles,' and we need him in our 
business." She wanted to parley, but as day- 
light was rapidly approaching, time was precious, 



20O 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



for as soon as daylight came, every man in the 
valley would be notified and warned that the 
" Philistines were upon them." Having allowed 
sufficient time for her to dress, I again told her 
to open the door, but as she paid no attention to 
me, some one fell up against it, and we went in. 
There was no sign of her husband, and she said: 
*' I told you 'e wasn't 'ere," so we took a light 
and went into the next room, and, here, hiding 
behind the door, was the bashful and retiring 
" Chawles." I addressed him with, " Brother 
Wright, howdy?" 

" Don't call me brother," said he, in a deep 
bass voice. 

"All right," said I, pulling out the warrant. 
"Just hold your ear open a moment and I will 
drop the contents of this paper into it. Get 
your duds on as soon as possible, and come and 
look at the little two-horse jail we have got 
down on the corner." 

He was the sulkiest prisoner I had yet made, 
and said it would be a long time before such a 
thing as coming into a man's house as we had 
done would be allowed in England. 

"Yes," I replied, "and a long time you would 
be in England before you would dare to have two 
wives. But this is Bear Lake County, Idaho, 
and you will have to put up with whatever may 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



201 



seem a little rough, and ascribe it to the way- 
things are done in the ' Far West.' " 

Bringing Wright down to the sleigh, we 
turned him over to the care of Johnny, who by 
this time had another captive perched on the 
seat behind. The other boys were gone after 
another man, so we waited until they came up. 
As we kept chatting away, we had not paid any 
particular attention to " Chawles," until I noticed 
that he had sneaked away a distance of about 
twenty-five yards from where we were. Shout- 
ing out to him to come back or I would take a 
shot at him, he concluded to return. After that 
we found him accommodations in the sleigh. 

By this time the other boys arrived, bringing 
with them a polygamous gentleman who bore the 
suggestive if not euphonious cognomen of " Duck 
Leg Lewis." Day was now about breaking; we 
took the prisoners out of the sleigh and left them 
in charge of the rest of the boys while the driver 
and I drove down a couple of miles where a 
gentleman I wished to see was located. By this 
time horsemen were flying in all directions to 
spread the alarm caused by our presence in the 
settlement, and an air of great activity pervaded 
the little place, early though it was. Seeing a 
man in a corral at the place where my man lived, 
I called him by name, and as he responded I, of 
course, put him under arrest at once. This man 



202 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

was a Dane, who made a perfect slave of his 
first wife until they had accumulated a nice little 
property, and had then taken to himself a second 
one. He then commenced to neglect the first 
one, sometimes cruelly abusing her in various 
ways until at last she died of a broken heart. I 
have this on the authority of her son, who told 
me the story, and he ground his teeth as the 
bitter memory of how his mother had been 
treated came back to him. 

• It was impossible to do anything more this 
journey, though there was plenty of material in 
Paris for a more extensive raid; by this time 
everybody who was at all likely to b e wanted had 
taken the timely warning and gone into hiding 
somewhere. There was one old Scottish gentle- 
man whom I would particularly liked to have 
seen. He had taken his own niece as his fourth 
wife. We found on our way back that Mont- 
pelier had been fully warned by telephone, and 
many of the Saints who were " off color" in the 
eyes of the law had gone to the mountains, where 
we will leave them for the present. The return 
trip was uneventful and much mo re pleasant, for 
we were favored with better weather. We dis- 
banded on arriving at home, and as a sequel to 
this memorable raid, I may say that all four pris- 
oners were found guilty, and some of them are 
still serving their sentences. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 203 



CHAPTER XXI. 

David Jenson — A Brutal Dane — Squalor and Misery. 

One or two other unimportant arrests were 
made, when attention was given to. the case of 
David Jenson, and the peculiar brutality of it de- 
serves passing notice. He lived near the village 
of Preston, and had married two sisters, but by- 
starvation and hard usage which had made even 
Mormons look upon him with disfavor, he had 
succeeded in bringing one of his wives to the 
grave broken-hearted. We started on our ride 
of twenty-three miles or so with the thermometer 
about thirty-two degrees below zero and the 
stars shining brightly overhead. We walked for 
miles at a time in order to keep warm, and by 
daylight we got to a couple of houses, but the occu- 
pants were all away. Riding on to the house of 
a Gentile friend we got warmed up and had a 
good breakfast, after which we moved on the 
works of Brother Jenson. We found him on a 
fine ranche with good, warm sheds for his live- 
stock, and good, roomy pig-pens; in fact the out- 
houses looked better than the dwellings. He 
was abundantly supplied with cattle, horses, pigs, 
etc., etc., and appeared to be in good circum- 
stances. Going to the door of the cabin or 
shanty, I knocked, and the door was opened by 



204 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



Jenson, whom I accosted with: " Good-morning, 
David." 

" Good-morning," said he, "but my name is 
not David." 

" That will be all right," I returned; "we will 
just go on as if your name was David, and while 
you are getting ready to take a little ride with 
us, I will first read this and then subpoena Mrs. 
Jenson." 

"There vas no Mrs. Jenson," said he ; "I haf 
no vife. Mein vife vas dead ein year." 

" Mrs. Jenson No. 2," I replied ; and looking 
through the two miserable rooms I picked 
my way over heaps of filth which were apparently 
the accumulation of weeks, but did not find her. 
Leaving my companion in charge, I made a tour 
of the other sheds and shanties, and at last in a 
hut still more miserable looking if possible, I 
found an elderly-looking Danish woman. Assum- 
ing that she was Mrs. Jenson, I bade her good- 
morning by that name ; she said she was not the 
lady named, adding : " Mrs. Yenson vos sick in 
dot room," pointing to a little cubby-hole about 
six feet by eight. I went in and found the poor 
woman laying on a pile of rags that had once 
been quilts. Her complaint was inflammatory 
rheumatism, yet she was left to suffer in this den, 
whilea wide space where the chinking had fallen 
out of the log hut let in the bitter cold to add 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



205 



to the poor woman's misery and suffering. I 
had to subpoena her as a matter of duty, and 
then stuffing the chinks up as well as I could, I 
left her ; and if ever I felt like giving a man his 
just desserts, I felt it then toward the inhuman 
husband. He was ready to start by the time 
we got back to the cabin, so we started on our 
return trip. His brutality was well known to all 
the neighbors, and I was curious to know how 
he would be treated on applying for bondsmen. 
I found that in spite of his record he was looked 
upon as a martyr, and Mormons came flocking 
round him to go on the bonds. It should have 
been mentioned that while he was a Dane, his 
wives were Americans. He was eventually sent 
to Boise City penitentiary, but he has served his 
time by this, and he is probably repeating his 
history in his old home. 



206 



A detective's experience 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Solomon Edwards — Mormons Capture Mormons — 
The Biters Bitten. 

The trips taken during the very cold snap 
that was now in progress were nearly all suc- 
cessful, but as there was nothing of especial 
interest to the public, we will pass several of 
them over and merely touch on a few more cases 
that are in some respects worthy of note and 
have the merit of being short. 

About this time one Solomon Edwards, of 
Utah, was in hiding near Eagle Rock, Idaho, 
and a warrant for his arrest was placed in my 
hands. Eagle Rock was about twenty-three 
miles beyond Blackfoot on the Utah Northern ; 
and as I was taking a prisoner to Blackfoot I 
had the jailor meet me at the depot, and after 
delivering my charge over to him I proceeded to 
Eagle Rock to look after Brother Edwards, 
arriving there about 10 o'clock that night. On 
getting off the train I met a friend who happened 
to be at the depot. He was Deputy Marshal 
for Idaho North, and I told him my business and 
described Solomon to him. (A " broken nose" 
was included in the description.) My friend 
believed we could find his location, although he 
never remembered to have seen any one answer- 
ing the description around town. My informa- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



207 



tion was that he was living on a timber claim 
belonging to his son about eight miles from 
Eagle Rock, and by midnight we were on the 
road with a team and buggy. After wandering 
round for several hours we pulled up at the 
house of a rancher and inquired for Edwards, 
describing him minutely, but were told that no 
one answering the description lived in the neigh- 
borhood. He was positive there must be a mis- 
take, as he had lived there some time, and being 
engaged in the stock business, which kept him 
riding about, he was sure if a man answering the 
description was in the neighborhood he would 
have met him. As no information could be got 
here, although we had no idea the rancher was 
a Mormon, we drove back to Eagle Rock just as 
day was breaking, and as soon as possible we 
went to the Deputy Clerk of the Land Office, 
and looking over the plats we very soon located 
the quarter section where Sol was living, and 
taking down the names of parties owning adjoin- 
ing claims, many of whom were known to my 
companion, we again started on our search, on 
horseback this time. After riding over nearly 
the whole of his claim we stumbled at last on his 
domicile, a brief description of which will not be 
amiss. 

Hewn out of the lava rock we found a room 
probably eight by ten in size, to which three or 



208 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



four steps led down. The walls and floor were 
stone, and the furniture consisted of a bed, stove, 
table, a couple of chairs and two or three dry- 
goods boxes, which served as seats as well as 
receptacles for anything- that could not be piled 
up anywhere else. In this hole in the ground 
we found a little English woman and three very 
young children, and a boy of perhaps ten years 
of age. The woman was getting on in years, 
but still her face bore traces of what was probably 
at one time remarkable beauty, and her language 
and manner denoted that she had not always lived 
in a dug-out like this. On inquiring if Mr. Solo- 
mon Edwards lived there, she replied in the nega- 
tive without the slightest hesitation. 

"Has he ever lived here?" I asked. 

"No, sir; my husband's name is Russell, and 
I do not know any one by the name of 
Edwards." 

"Have you got a son named Edmond?" I 
again asked her. 

"No, sir," she replied. 

I was sitting on the bottom step leading into 
the hut, and seeing a "Book of Mormon," laying 
on a box near me, I picked it up, and there on 
the fly leaf was the name "Solomon Edwards, a 
gift from his wife," giving the name of the little 
lady I was speaking to. I did not say anything 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



209 



about it for some time, but finding that she still 
denied knowing her husband, I finally said : 

"Was that the best present you could make 
Solomon ?" 

"What do you mean ? " she asked, turning red 
in the face. 

I handed her the book and she burst out 
crying. A woman in tears always "breaks me 
up," and believing her tears were the result of 
being caught in so many lies, I begged of her to 
"brace up.'' I admired her none the less for 
trying to throw me off the track, for it went to 
prove that she had "grit." It was absolutely 
necessary that I should have an interview with 
Sol, seeing that business of importance demanded 
his presence in Salt Lake City, so I asked her if 
she would kindly inform me where he was to be 
found. She said she could not. She had not 
seen him for two days. My companion was sit- 
ting outside, and when I emerged from the 
"dug-out" as wise as when I went in, except 
that I was positive we were at the home of 
Edwards, we were puzzled what to do. I knew 
that if the party whom we woke up the night 
before was a Mormon, that by this time Sol had 
been warned, and this would account for his 
absence. We had only talked for a moment or 
two when we saw a man on horseback approach- 
ing, so we retired behind the roof of the dug-out 



2IO 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



to take observations. We hoped to find that it 
was Edwards himself, but were very much dis- 
gusted when it turned out to be the acquaintance 
of the night before. We were both satisfied that 
he was the cause of our man's absence, and 
though he claimed to be unaware that the family- 
went under any other name than Russell, his 
very manner of expressing himself was sufficient 
to convince me that he was lying. We talked 
about it for a while, Mrs. Edwards joining in the 
conversation, and it soon leaked out that they 
both knew where he was at that moment, and as 
it would be utterly impossible for us to approach 
his hiding-place, a bargain was struck with this 
Mormon that he should lay down a proposition 
to Edwards to give himself up, for he could not 
provide for his family while dodging round the 
country in this way. It appeared also that the 
family had been pretty badly off of late. The 
wife told me that for weeks they had lived on 
jack-rabbits and "slapjacks" or pancakes, made 
of flour mixed with water ; and that for want of 
cooking material they had to boil them instead 
of frying or cooking them in the usual way ; she 
added that if it were not for the little ones, she 
would gladly leave and try and get some work 
to do in Eagle Rock. I also told our Mormon 
friend to let Edwards know that we would give 
five dollars apiece to make the family comfort- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



211 



able, and would also make the case known to the 
charitably-disposed at Eagle Rock, who would 
no doubt see that they wanted for nothing. The 
understanding was also had that we were to wait 
for him one hour, and if he was not back by that 
time we would try and get Edwards ourselves. 
He rode off, but we had but little faith in him ; 
so we went to a position where, by the aid of a 
field-glass my friend had brought with him, we 
were afforded a view of the country for many 
miles round. We soon saw our ambassador 
arrive at a house round which several men 
seemed to be congregated, and after what 
appeared to be a short consultation one of them 
mounted a horse and rode rapidly in the opposite 
direction to where we were standing. We at 
once mounted and started in pursuit of him, but 
as he had evidently got too good a start we rode 
back and found ourselves in the middle of a band 
of Mormons, who twitted us on letting Edwards 
get away so easy. We told them that was all 
right, and if we did not have to return to Salt 
Lake City at once we would follow him if it took 
us to England after him. We told them to be 
prepared for a second visit, as we would be back 
after Sol again in about a couple of weeks. We 
then returned to Eagle Rock, tired and dis- 
gusted, as we had been on the road all the 
night before. 



212 



A detective's experience 



It now occurred to me that the Mormon whom 
we had sent to negotiate with Edwards would 
hardly expect a visit from us that night, so I 
asked my friend if he was willing to pay them 
another visit and take them by surprise. He 
said he was agreeable after having a little sleep, 
so, arranging for a couple of fresh horses, we 
took supper and retired to take a little much- 
needed rest. We got up at midnight, and going 
to the stable for the horses we were soon on the 
road again. We knew every foot of the way 
now, short cuts and all, and it did not take us 
very long to reach the " dug-out. " I rapped 
gently on the door, and whatever pity I might 
have previously had for the woman died out 
when I received no answer to the summons. 
I lighted a match, and on examining the door I 
found it was padlocked on the outside. We soon 
found fresh wagon-tracks leading in an easterly 
direction, and at once decided to follow them up. 
We rode four or five miles until we came to the 
house of one of the party who had the laugh on 
us the day before. After our summons at the 
door was replied to, we said that we had good 
reason to believe that Edwards was there, and 
that we wanted the door opened at once. He 
said he was not there and wanted to know if we 
had a search-warrant. The door was finally 
opened, and after explaining my reasons for sup- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



213 



posing my man to be there, I said that I would 
make a short search if he had no objection. He 
had common-sense enough to consent, and I was 
soon satisfied that there was no one in hiding 
there. 

A few doors off was another Mormon resi- 
dence, and here we found the wagon we had 
been following. As usual we knocked at the 
door, and were replied to by one of those smart 
fellows who think they know everything. When 
I stated our business, he demanded a search- 
warrant. I replied that I had what was much 
stronger — a United States bench warrant. He 

"did not care a d n ; we could not come into 

his house without a search-warrant. " I parleyed 
with him mildly a few moments, which seemed to 
have the effect of increasing his little stock of 
courage until at last he began to get abusive. 
Getting weary, I finally said to him : 

" I am going to read this paper to you, and if 
you are not willing to let us in, why then you 
put on your clothes and go to Eagle Rock with 
us." 

"Oh," replied he, "you can run no bluffs on 
me. I will go to Eagle Rock with you. " 

" Get on your duds as quick as you can, then, " 
said I. " I would rather teach a fool like you a 
lesson than take Edwards if he was in there. " 

In a minute or so he came out ready for the 



214 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



trip. I explained to him why I was arresting 
him and gave him another chance, but he was 
obstinate as a mule, and after he had mounted his 
pony we placed him between us and rode to 
Eagle Rock. For a time he seemed to think he 
had the best of us, and told us he proposed to 
make this a test case. We laughed and told 
him he would not want to tackle another test 
case like it. We neared Eagle Rock, and when 
he found no signs of weakening on our side, he 
said he was beginning to think he had been 
hasty, and if we would go back to his place we 
could go through the house, but he could assure 
us that Edwards was not there. We told him 
he ought to have thought of all that before, and 
not acted as he had done when we had treated 
him in every way as gentlemen should do; but 
it was too late now. On arriving at Eagle Rock 
we went into an all-night house, got a lunch and 
stayed there till daylight. I did not like to put 
the poor fellow behind the bars, so I kept an eye 
on him till about noon to give his friends time to 
come and see him. About noon a sheepish- 
looking band of Saints came to town, and they 
proved to be some of the same party who had 
been so extremely witty when Solomon gave us 
the slip the day before. As they came in to 
where we were it was laughable to watch them. 
They did not know whether to blame the pris- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



215 



oner, who, by his bull-headed obstinacy had 
got himself into trouble, or to sympathize 
with him. So, after they had condoled with 
him, I said. "Well, boys, there is only one 
thing that can be done in this case. You 
all know where Edwards is, and that he is the 
party wanted. I would have had him last night 
but for this man. Yet this same young man has 
done nothing but what appeals to me as a manly 
act, and one that I would probably have done 
myself if our positions were reversed. But it 
does not alter the fact that he has laid himself 
liable. He tells me that he has a wife and three 
children, and that he is struggling to make them 
a living. Now, you fellows go out and get 
Edwards and bring him here, and I will not 
make any complaint against him until you return 
with Edwards, provided you get back by train- 
time to-morrow morning. His wife and some of 
you say that Edwards is not guilty. If he is not 
he will be back here in a week a free man. " 

They thought the terms fair enough, and four 
of them started out on horseback after him. My 
prisoners spirits began to rise, and as I had said 
nothing to any one about the case, I let him go 
around the town where he pleased, merely keep- 
ing an eye on him to see that he did not get lost. 
Hour after hour flew by, so I took him to a hotel and 
secured beds, leaving orders to be called should 



2l6 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



any one ask for me. About three in the morning 
the captive Mormon, who had been awake and 
restless, but watchful of the window overlooking 
the road taken by his friends, woke me with the 
intelligence that he could see them coming. On 
looking out I was convinced that he was right, 
so we dressed ourselves and went down to the 
bar-room to await them. In a few moments one 
of them came in and I said, "Well, brother, what 
luck?" For a moment he did not know what to 
say. Here was I, sitting round smoking good 
cigars and taking it easy, the prisoner also get- 
ting his full share of whatever was going. The 
new arrival claimed that he and his companions 
had been in the saddle for over fourteen hours 
and had ridden down three horses apiece. I 
said : 

" Oh, that's nothing. Such is life in the 
Rocky Mountains. Where is Edwards? It is 
near train -time." 

" He is where we can get him in a few min- 
utes," was the reply. " How do we know you 
will keep your word?" 

"I always keep my word, don't I?" said I, 
turning to a bystander. 

" I dunno," said he. 

"I said I would get Sol before I returned to 
Salt Lake City, didn't I, three days ago?" 
" Yes," said he. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



217 



" Well, I've kept my word, have I not?" 

" I don't know," said he, " You hain't got Sol 
« yet. We have him." 

" All right; keep him," said I. Then turning 
to my prisoner I said: "The train will pull in 
in a few minutes, and I guess we'd better be get- 
ting over to the depot." 

The poor captive looked so woe-begone that 
I could not help pitying him, as did all the rest. 
Their leader or spokesman then coming over to 
me said: "You'll let him go 'honest Injun' if I 
bring in Sol ? " 

" I told you I would when you first went on 
this trip, and I meant it," said I, "but you fel- 
lows get in the way of lying, and you think 
everyone else is the same." 

He went and whispered to a couple of tne 
others and they started off, and returned in a 
few minutes with a gentleman whom, on close 
inspection, I found to answer the description I 
had. He was about fifty years of age, and had 
an unmistakably broken nose. After we had 
been formally introduced to each other, I took 
his hand and shook it cordially, expressing at the 
same time the great pleasure I found in making 
his acquaintance. Solomon did not seem to re- 
ciprocate to any alarming extent the delight that 
1 felt. He turned to my former prisoner and 
began to sneer at him for the part he had taken 



2l8 



A detective's experience 



in the "business. Why should he be taking an 
interest in his (Edwards') welfare ? He did not 
ask him to go and take his wife to his place, and 
he kept up a regular tirade until I interfered and 
told him that if he went on much more he need 
not expect any favors from me on the road. The 
exchange of prisoners was now formally made, 
and soon afterward I started with Edwards for 
Salt Lake City, a distance of some two hundred 
and fifty miles south. He was shortly afterward 
tried and found guilty, and all the " persecution* 
(Mormons delight in calling all measures for 
abating and punishing the crime of polygamy by 
this name) he got was that he was allowed to 
return to his home on promising to obey the law 
in future. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



219 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Nelson, a Dane, Marries the Whole Family, 

Weston is a little inland village about seven- 
teen miles from Oxford. The population is en- 
tirely Mormon and of the most fanatical stripe, 
many of them being polygamists. I might add 
that they are nearly all Danish. It is situated 
on the old Montana stage road previously men- 
tioned, and can boast of a Mormon meeting- 
house, a Zion's Co-operative Institution, and a 
splendid flour mill. 

I had warrants for the arrest of several of the 
Weston polygamists, so one night I took a man 
with me as a guide, and after a starlight ride of 
about two hours we arrived at Weston. Here 
was a Scandinavian named Nelson, who lived 
about a mile and a half from the village, who had 
three wives, two of whom were mother and 
daughter, and as he was wanted I thought I 
would attend to his case first. We went out to 
his farm where two of his wives (the mother and 
daughter) were, and in response to a knock the 
door was speedily opened. On inquiring for 
Brother Nelson we were informed that he was 
not there to-night, but was stopping in town. 
They evidently suspected nothing and told the 
truth, so I questioned no further. There were 



220 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



four or five women in this very small log-house 
— two were wives and the others were presum- 
ably the daughters. We soon arrived in the town 
and first visited Brother Nelson's city residence, 
which was hastily searched without any trace 
being found of Nelson. The only occupant was 
a stolid-looking Danish woman, who either could 
not or would not speak a word of English. We 
left here hastily and visited the house of another 
Dane who had two wives — one residing here 
and the other about two miles away. One of us 
went to the back door, and a very decent-look- 
ing young Danish woman opened it in response 
to the knock. I had heard a man's voice on ap- 
proaching the house, and I was surprised when I 
entered to find no one. I asked her where her 
husband was, to which she replied that she did 
not know. " Well," said I, " I am going to search 
the house," and when I moved toward the door 
with the intention of closing it, a very crest-fallen 
looking Dane came out from behind it. 

"I thought you said your husband was not 
in," said I to the woman. 

" Nein, dot vasnotmein husband; dot vasvon 
neighbor." 

"Oh, I guess not," I replied; and taking out 
the bunch of warrants from my pockets I began 
to read out the name of her husband. As the 
man heard the name pronounced, an expression 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



221 



of relief came over his face, and he broke out with 
a joyous laugh. 

" Nein, nein; dot vas not mein nem." 

" What is your name? " I asked. 

" Mein nem vas Nelson," he replied; and he 
proved to be the party we were first looking for. 

I called in an assistant, into whose care he was 
given, while we looked through the other part of 
the house for the husband of this woman, but no 
trace of him could be found. 

As there had been no fuss made so far, we 
were in hopes that our presence in the town was 
unknown as yet. So we hastily got on our 
horse and rode in the direction of the Dane's 
other house. When about half way, we met a 
Swede, whom the party with me recognized as a 
kind of Mormon spy, who was giving some 
trouble. (Some time after this I had the pleas- 
ure of seeing him fined seventy-five dollars for 
his trouble.) On arriving at the house, we found 
in the first wife of our Dane, a poor little crippled 
woman, having a number of children, one of 
them being a mere baby. The surroundings 
were in keeping with some of the lowest cases I 
had yet come across, and fifteen dollars would 
probably cover all the assets in both houses. 
We did not find the owner of these assets, so 
returned to Oxford in company with Brother 
Nelson, who was held to await the action of the 



222 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



grand jury, and eventually pleaded guilty to the 
charge against him. He was sent to relieve the 
monotony of the Saints who were having a vaca- 
tion in the House of Correction, at Detroit, 
Michigan. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



223 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Famed Mountain Meadow Massacre — The Brutal 
Morrisites Outrage. 

As would be naturally supposed, the stirring 
up the polygamists had been having of late, had 
brought up many reminiscences of the past ; and 
among other things much talked about was the 
Mountain Meadow massacre. This has been 
written up many times before by many different 
authors ; still I will risk a brief account of it, 
owing to the peculiar way in which I received 
the facts. I number among my friends an old 
man in Cassia County, Idaho, who is now an 
Apostate Mormon, and who left Zion's fold on 
account of this very same massacre. We were 
talking about it one day when I put this ques- 
tion to him : "Was old John D. Lee urged on 
in that Mountain Meadow massacre by Brigham 
Young, as it is claimed he was, or do you 
believe 'Petticoat Penrose* in his paper told 
the truth when he denied that such was the 
case ? " 

[Penrose was the editor of a Mormon news- 
paper in Ogden, who escaped the officers of the 
law in his wives' petticoats. He was a very 
prominent and loud-mouthed polygamist.] 

"In course," answered my old friend ; "Brig- 



224 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

ham Young was the whole head and front of the 
massacre. I can 'member the time well. I was 
up to whar the Lemhi Indian Agency is now." 

He then went on to tell me that he was serv- 
ing in the Nauvoo Legion (an armed body of 
scouts in Brigham Young's service), at the time; 
when he returned to Salt Lake City shortly after 
the massacre, he said the city looked as if 
cholera had struck it, and the people all seemed 
to talk in whispers. There were plenty of 
Mormons who would gladly have quit service in 
the " Legion" had they dared to; but as the 
whole system was a network of spies no one 
cared to risk leaving. Secret assassination was 
quite common, and very often some well-known 
man would turn up missing, and the usual con- 
clusion come to was that he had been put out of 
the way for the good of the cause. My friend 
again impressed on me the fact that he was up 
at Lemhi and had nothing to do with the massa- 
cre personally, and then continued the narra- 
tive. 

About the 24th of July, 1857, a large party of 
" Arkansawyers" were on their way to Cali- 
fornia ; they must have numbered from a hun- 
dred to a hundred and fifty in all. They ran 
short of provisions before they reached Salt 
Lake City, but as they were well supplied with 
funds they did not worry about it. They could 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



225 



get plentifully supplied at Salt Lake. Brigham 
Young's outposts were manned by a pretty 
tough lot of scoundrels, but they did not bear 
the reputation at that time of being murderers, 
and they could and would on occasion be as 
friendly and sociable with emigrants as need be. 
Perhaps Brigham was annoyed or put out by 
some tidings he had received about the doings 
of the United States troops, or he may have had 
other reasons ; but it is certain that he did not 
like the idea of so large a body of Gentiles com- 
ing into his stronghold at once, for Salt Lake 
City was only a small place in those days. His 
word was law, and he always had a band of 
scouts out so as to prevent the possibility of any 
sudden influx of Gentiles into his territory ; and 
he was invariably informed of all that went on 
outside of the city by his scouts, so that he 
might take what action he thought best for the 
protection of the Saints and the "building up of 
Zion." New " Stakes of Zion " were established 
then as now, only much more arbitrary in their 
methods and conditions. There were, more- 
over, among his own people many who were dis- 
satisfied for one reason or another with the life 
they were leading. Many had been disappointed 
with their new home in this Land of Promise, 
some being bold enough to think there had been 
more promise than fulfillment. It was, of 



226 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



course, of vital importance to the cause that any- 
thing approaching disaffection among the Mor- 
mons should at once be squelched — they should 
be coaxed into submission if possible, frightened 
if obstinate, forced if need be. Why would not 
a wholesale slaughter serve as an effectual argu- 
ment to these dissatisfied ones ? Would it not 
be indisputable proof that the Lord, who* sent 
His angel to destroy the hosts of Sennacherib, 
was still living, and would stop at nothing in 
order to guard His people from the encroach- 
ments of the " Evil Ones." It is tolerably cer- 
tain that such thoughts as these found a 
constant place in Brigham Young's mind at 
this time. 

To return to the poor emigrants from Arkan- 
sas. After long weeks of weary travel, they had 
looked forward to the day when they should 
reach Salt Lake City. Its location was known, 
even at that early day, as a very fertile valley, 
and no doubt the hearts of these travel-worn pil- 
grims grew light as they contemplated this haven 
of rest in their imaginatians. Alas for them and 
their bright hopes! When they reached Salt 
Lake City they found everything closed to them. 
They could not buy anything, for Brigham 
Young's fiat had gone forth prohibiting the sale 
of anything to them, and here they were with 
nearly a thousand miles of mountain and desert 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



22/ 



staring them in the face, while their poor wives 
and children were suffering for the very things 
they could see on all sides in profusion — for July 
is, of all months, the one when the beautiful 
Cache Valley is at its best. It is hard to conceive 
of anything more heartless than this, even if 
nothing more was done to persecute these poor 
emigrants, whose only offense was passing 
through the Mormon country in their endeavor 
to better themselves. But, no; Brigham and his 
Danites had now started on the war-path, and, 
not content with ordering these inoffensive trav- 
elers away empty-handed, he must needs lay 
plans for their total annihilation. The outside 
settlements had all received their instructions, 
and to use a modern expression, they found 
themselves literally " boycotted." Though trav- 
eling in a land which was " flowing with milk and 
honey," they were denied the privilege of 
exchanging their gold for the common neces- 
saries of life. It is very much to be regretted 
now that so strong a party as these emigrants 
were known to be should have submitted to such 
treatment, and that they did not compel these 
wretches to supply their wants. Necessity 
should certainly have known no law in this case. 
This of itself is proof that the wayfarers were an 
exceptionally peaceable and law-abiding party, 
and only goes to make the Mormons appear 



228 



A detective's experience 



more despicable than ever. Finding it was 
impossible to obtain anything, they sorrowfully 
wended their way forward, and after struggling 
on for some time they reached the head of Corn 
Creek, high up in the hills, at what is known as 
the Mountain Meadows. Here they found 
abundant pasturage for their stock, and so they 
made up their minds to rest for some time, to 
recruit up, and provide, if possible, for their own 
sustenance during the remainder of the journey. 
Their plans were doomed to be frustrated, how- 
ever, for the Mormons had determined upon 
their total destruction, and were even now busily 
preparing a plan, that for cowardice and brutality 
stands out alone in all its ghastly hideousness. 
Their plan was not only to wipe out the travelers 
effectually, but also to guard against the possi- 
bility of subsequent detection and punishment. 
To better insure this result, they decided to 
resort to strategem, so they called in the aid of 
the " Lamanites," or Mormon Indians, who were 
at all times willing tools of Brigham Young. 
There was a double purpose in this part of the 
well-laid scheme. Should they fail in their pur- 
pose, or succeeding, should they be subsequently 
charged with the crime, what was easier than to 
lay all the blame on the Indians. The civilized 
world would be much more inclined to believe 
this theory than that such a butchery had been 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



229 



perpetrated by the " Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latterday Saints." So the Indians were chosen 
to do the dirty work, and were to be rewarded 
for their services with a share in the plunder. 

No warning voice reached the poor doomed 
victims, for there was no friend near, and they 
slept on peacefully, without even a presentiment 
of the horrible fate awaiting- them. One day, 
early in September, as they were camped in the 
corral formed by their wagons, they were 
pounced upon without a moment's warning by a 
horde of Indians, whom they had no reason to 
expect or guard against, from the fact that they 
were still in the settlements. The Indians fired 
a volley at them, and the surprised emigrants 
were dismayed to see a number of their loved 
ones fall dead at the first discharge. Finding 
that they were surrounded, they quickly put 
themselves on the defensive, and while some 
threw up breastworks, to protect the women and 
children, the others held the Indians at bay and 
attended to the wounded and dying. 

They managed to keep the Indians off until 
nightfall, and although many were slaughtered, 
yet it was far from being the success that the 
Mormons anticipated. The emigrants lost no 
time in making their little fort impregnable to 
everything but cannon, and the attacking party 
found that to effectually wipe them out some 



230 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



other plan must be resorted to, so news was con- 
veyed to Cedar City, another of the Mormon 
outposts, that the emigrants were defending them- 
selves and had built a little fort or earth-works. 
It was thereupon determined to proceed dif- 
ferently and to use treacherous means to over- 
come the brave little band of defenders. As 
none but Indians had been seen as yet by the 
emigrants, it was thought by the Mormons that 
a flag of truce would gain them an entrance to 
the little fort without endangering their own lives. 
The emigrants would have been more than mor- 
tal if by this time they had not become despon- 
dent; and as every avenue of escape was cut off 
and they were running out of food, they hailed 
the flag of truce with joy as an emblem of 
deliverance and at once admitted the bearer with 
confidence. With him came John D. Lee, who 
it will be remembered was since tried and exe- 
cuted for the part he took in the massacre. He 
was sub-Indian Agent, and he was selected by 
the Mormons as one who was peculiarly fitted 
for the furtherance of their ends, as from his very 
position he could effectually lull any suspicions 
the emigrants might have. After he was 
admitted, Lee told them that the Indians were 
determined on their destruction, and that nothing 
would pacify them but the full surrender of their 
entire outfit. He assured them that if they 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 23 1 

would agff ee to this, he would see that they were 
fully protected and left unmolested; but as this 
meant death by starvation for them it became a 
matter for most serious consideration what to do. 
Yet it seemed the only avenue left by which 
they could escape with their lives, and as there 
was no alternative, they agreed to it. Lee had 
everything arranged in anticipation of such a de- 
cision. The wounded men and women with the 
younger children were placed in the wagons and 
taken past the besieging party outside, the 
women and older children walking behind. The 
men of the party were then led in single file, and 
each one was in charge of a Mormon guard with 
a loaded rifle, and they were marched in this 
order for a distance of perhaps half a mile to a 
spot already chosen, where the Indians were 
ambushed. At a given signal each of these fiend- 
ish guards shot down the particular emigrant in 
his keeping, while the Indians finished the brutal 
work by murdering the helpless women and 
children as well as the wounded men. A few 
upon whom the shots had failed to take effect 
sought safety in flight but were soon overtaken 
and ruthlessly slaughtered. Not one man or 
woman was left to tell the tale. All were mur- 
dered. A few of the children, whom the Mor- 
mons thought were too young to be able at any 
future time to remember the incidents connected 



232 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



with the murder of their relatives, were spared. 
They were given to the Indians with the excep- 
tion of one or two who were taken by some of 
the Mormon participants in the massacre. In 
this will be seen another example of Mormon 
cunning; for should the friends of the murdered 
parties ever follow up their fate, the possession 
of the white children would point to the Indians 
as the perpetrators. 

As is well known, this occurred some twelve 
years before the Union Pacific was built through 
to Ogden, and when Salt Lake City was far 
from even the old emigrant road. For years 
the guilty secret was kept close, but* 'murder 
will out," and it was not to be expected that 
such a diabolical crime as this could remain a 
secret forever, so that to-day the whole occur- 
rence is a matter of history. 

My only reason for thus briefly reviewing the 
sad tale, is that people with the same beliefs and 
doctrine and possessed of the same blood-thirsty 
instincts, are to-day posing before the world as 
martyrs and are just as willing to perpetrate 
crime to-day as they were thirty years ago. 

The " Morrisites " outrage that took place 
some years later, although not as bad as the 
Mountain Meadow massacre in all its features, 
was yet bad enough. With a brief account of 
it I will close this chapter. At Soda Springs 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



235 



there lives a friend of mine, a Swedish gentleman 
whose name I prefer not to give for obvious 
reasons. I was at a loss for some time to know 
why Nels was down on the Mormons to the ex- 
tent that he was, but stopping at his house over 
night on one occasion, I found that he had good 
reason to be so. Some years ago there was 
among the Mormons a man named Morris who, 
while holding to some portions of the Mormon 
belief, yet eschewed all that related to polygamy. 
He soon had followers, much to the dismay and 
anger of Brigham Young. Morris and his fol- 
lowers moved in a body to a place in Weber 
Canyon, where they proceeded to make homes 
for themselves, and were getting along nicely 
until it became rumored that Brigham had deter- 
mined to put them down at all hazards. With 
the events of the Mountain Meadow massacre 
fresh in their minds, they soon saw that their 
case was one that needed immediate attention. 
They therefore began building a stockade and 
corral, and were very cautious as to whom they 
admitted within their gates. All, however, was 
of no avail, for one day the minions of Brig- 
ham came pouring in on them right and left, 
and after a few minutes' shooting, left several 
of the Morrisites weltering in their gore as a 
reminder of what they might expect should 
they persist in following the teachings of Brother 



236 



A detective's experience 



Morris. My friend Nels concluded his account 
of it by pointing to his wife, and saying : 
"There; that scar on my wife's chin is the 

reason I am down on the d d Mormons." 

His wife was one of the victims of this out- 
rage, and her face is terribly disfigured ; half 
of her chin having been shot away. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



237 



CHAPTER XXV, 

Brother Handy, Husband, Brother-in-law y Father and 
Uncle to His Own Family, Pulled Out of a Straw - 
Stack. 

As we are short of Polygs we will take a trip 
to Franklin once more, and with " hooplas" 
away we go, the clatter of hoofs making a bass 
to the dog chorus that celebrates our departure. 
It is in a minor chord, however, and its musical 
qualities unappreciated by us. Touching up our 
ponies we soon reach the open country, and quite 
agree that " distance lends enchantment" to that 
concert. There are few houses along the road, 
and nothing of special interest. We, however, 
forget the monotony in a jolly conversation. 
Many an anecdote was told that, could I repeat 
them in this work, would lighten up the gloom, 
as it were, and will no doubt be recalled and 
laughed over years from now by us, for we were 
not solemn, like some of our estimable Mormon 
Saints, but found ourselves tired out with laughter 
by the time we reached Bear River bridge, which, 
if you remember, I have described in a former 
chapter. Crossing the bridge we climb the mount- 
ains, and, crossing the railroad track near the 
summit, follow the wagon track until we come to 
the village of Preston. The clouds which have 



238 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



for some time been threatening now turned them- 
selves inside out and the rain came down in 
torrents. 

After a little consultation we agreed upon a 
place of shelter. It is at a house where the 
hearty reception I always have received makes 
me feel assured of our welcome ; and the pros- 
pect of hot coffee with a good warming is not at 
all unpleasant. The house stands in a nook on 
the banks of the river, and going down we 
awaken our friends who, by the way, are keeping 
"bachelor's hall," and we are soon enjoying the 
appetizing odors of stewed duck and speckled 
trout, which our host is preparing for our early 
morning meal. In the meantime we hang our- 
selves over the backs of chairs to dry. You see 
there is an air of freedom about "bachelor's 
hall," and a small decoction of alcohol "passed 
down " ostensibly as a preventative for colds, 
gives us a jolly and homelike feeling; while our 
host claims it is an excellent appetizer and we 
soon proved the fact. The efforts of the cook 
were thoroughly appreciated by the inner man 
and the meal enlivened by many a joke. 

It was necessary to make our professional 
calls at hours which would be productive of the 
best results, so, as it was still raining very hard, 
we concluded to take it easy for the day. Our 
host had extended his hospitality to our horses, 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



239 



and we found that Reddy and his partner were 
like ourselves — feasting on the fat of the land. I 
suggested to George that should the weather 
clear up we might take a shot-gun and kill a few 
ducks, or go down and catch a few trout for 
dinner, which we did. When that was accom- 
plished and we had a refreshing sleep it was 
about time to go and interview Brother Wm. 
Handy and the ladies. George suggested that 
were the latter " handy" it would probably be 
necessary to subpoena them, but he solemnly 
declared that no pun was intended. 

About two o'clock in the morning we bade 
good-by to our genial host, and remounting 
our horses were soon jogging along toward 
Franklin. 

We were in hopes we could find a few Mor- 
mons on the way, for our last trip had made us 
familiar with every polygamist in the place, and 
we were willing to spare the others for a day or 
two. Our success was poor, however, for in 
some mysterious way they had all been warned, 
and, as Brother Swan expresses it, been told to 
" flee to the mountains." Finally we turned our 
horses' heads in the direction of Brother Handy's 
palatial log cabins, but not without difficulty, for 
in many places our horses were nearly up to their 
flanks in mud. 

As we neared the cabins we were met by the 



240 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



two Mrs. Handys, who are sisters, Brother Handy 
filling the double position of husband and 
brother-in-law to each of them. He also has the 
distinguished honor of being not only his chil- 
dren's father, but their uncle. 

One would naturally suppose that it would 
take at least a good stalwart specimen of the 
human race to fill such a responsible position, 
but truth compels me to state that Brother Handy, 
the husband, father, brother-in-law and uncle is 
but a small, insignificant-looking man. It fills 
the average beholder with profound astonishment 
to think that one of such slight stature can shoul- 
der such immense responsibilities, and so success- 
fully, as the yard full of noisy young ones would 
suggest. Bill is humble and unpretentious, or he 
could never digest the " family jars." I use the 
word " humble" for the moment Bill saw us 
approaching and while we were yet afar off, 
seemed to think himself unworthy of our notice, 
and made quick time in reaching a large straw- 
stack. We were not surprised, however, as the 
retiring dispositions of polygamists had often 
been observed in our experience. 

We were rather pleased to find that he had 
taken the direction of the straw-stack which stood 
in an open field, and saw at a glance that our 
game was safe in our hands. Poor fellow, in his 
hurry he had not been able to "pull the hole in 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



after him/* and there, like an ostrich, he stood, 
with his head and shoulders buried in the hay. 
We could not help wishing that he was one of 
those remarkable birds, for from the way he was 
jammed into the stack I could have picked his 
feathers slick and clean before he could even 
remonstrate. I took him by the heels and without 
much exertion landed what little there was of him 
on his feet; and such a little puny creature, why 
we felt like saying " you poor, naughty little boy 
what made you so bashful, when visitors were 
coming?" 

I said instead: "Bill, you know what this is 
all about, don't you?" 

" Polygamy, I suppose," he sullenly replied. 

"Yes," I said, "and although it is scarcely 
needed I will read the warrant to you, for it makes 
it more binding, you know." 

He listened quietly enough, and we then went 
back to the little homes with our prisoner, and 
I guarded him while George went after the 
ladies, whom we had passed shortly before. 
They were soon subpoenaed, and on their driv- 
ing down the lane I could see they were very 
mad. The first one who alighted from the 
wagon flew at me with wrath in her eyes, and 
snapped out that William was no polygamist, 
that her name was not Handy, but Mary Jane 
Flewit, and then poured out a torrent of abuse 



242 



A detective's experience 



in language that was more copious than elegant. 
I endeavored to soothe my wounded feelings by 
commiserating Bill. 

" Poor William/' I said, "you are indeed to 
be pitied, and a cell in the penitentiary ought to 
be looked on by you as a haven of rest, and a 
relief from a life of torture." 

Mrs. Flewit Handy was silent while I spoke 
to him, but how her eyes snapped, and if a look 
of the deadliest hate could have killed, I would 
have gone up the flume immediately. 

She finally asked me what I meant by talking 
that way. 

I told her I meant to express my pity for her 
poor martyr of a husband, and was only sorry 
he was not arrested for murder, for then he would 
be likely to be hung and out of his misery, while 
now he would probably get six months or so in the 
penitentiary, and would then be obliged to come 
back and live with her, and in my extreme pity 
I cried out, " God help him," for although one 
wife of this kind would be bad enough, think 
of the misery of holding "two of a kind," and 
afraid to show your hand. 

Before we left Bill, he admitted that it was a 
" close, hard game." He is now in the House 
of Correction at Detroit, where he was taken in 
June, 1886, and unless pardoned out or dead is 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



243 



probably meditating on past wrongs, and think- 
ing "what might have been." 



244 



A detective's experience 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Mormon Persecution of Gentiles — Husbands by Proxy 

— The Church Opens Houses of Prostitution with 
Harlots brought from San Francisco — Peep Holes 
for Mormon Police — Signal Failure of the Scheme 

— Plotters get One Year in Jail — Mobbing Officials 
^Disgusting Means Resorted to — Mobbing of Mr. 
and Mrs. Stenhouse — Attempted Assassination of 
Collins — A Saintly Crew. 

If all Mormons were polygamists, it would 
be no'very difficult matter to keep them down. 
But the fact is that there are a great many Mor- 
mons who are very much opposed to polygamy, 
but who have relatives and friends who are 
polygamists. For this reason they not only will 
not take any active part against them, but will 
protect and shield them from prosecution to the 
best of their ability. They are bound by their 
vows to do this, even if the ties of relationship 
or friendship did not prompt them to do so. 

The Saints are not, as we have already seen, 
always content to remain on the defensive, but 
have many ingenious ways of persecuting their 
"persecutors." A friend of mine — raised in 
Logan, but who now lives some one hundred 
and twenty-five miles north of there, having had 
to leave civilization and live among Indians years 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



245 



ago owing to the persecution — was showing 
me over the splendid hay ranche where he lived, 
with his father. There was plenty of machinery 
in the barns, hundreds of sleek, fat cattle grazed 
on the mountainsides, and an air of prosperity 
pervaded the whole place. 

" Yes," said my friend, "you would not believe 
how, a few years since, when my father left the 
Church, we were preached against. The Elect 
were told to let us breathe the air and drink the 
water, but warning them never to hold out the 
hand of fellowship to us, or in any way have 
dealings with us. We were to be taught that 
starvation was the fate of those who dared to 
reason for themselves and deny the authority of 
Brigham Young and his satellites. Our saintly 
neighbors were not content with this but when any 
thing wrong was done by some of the young 
hoodlums of their own families, they would 
blame some of us boys. Life among them be- 
came intolerable, and we moved out of the place, 
content rather to dwell among the Indians than 
to remain any longer near such a class of peo- 
ple — and we have not lost anything by the 
change/' 

Not long after the effects of the anti-polygamy 
crusade commenced to be severely felt by the 
Mormons, they instituted some very novel 
methods of counteracting the movement, and 



246 A detective's experience. 

especially of putting a stigma upon the United 
States officials, and other prominent movers in 
the conflict. One in particular deserves mention 
here, not only for its originality of idea, but also 
for the signal failure that attended it. They 
arranged for the importation of a lot of prostitutes 
from San Francisco, who were to open houses of 
ill-fame in Salt Lake City, the money being fur- 
nished by some of the leaders of the Mormon 
Church. The landladies of these establishments 
were to entice into their dens, as far as possible, 
those who were actively engaged in prosecuting 
the Mormons. Police were secreted in these 
houses and holes pierced through the walls to 
enable them to make observations. These women 
were also to send notes to prominent men among 
the Gentiles begging the favor of an interview 
on " business of importance," etc. These houses 
were in respectable localities, and the intended 
victims of the conspiracy were supposed to fall 
at once into the trap. They succeeded in getting 
many to come to their houses in this way, but 
in very few, if any, cases were they successful in 
placing any of their callers in false positions. 
The whole scheme fell through very shortly, and 
several of the conspirators got into trouble, and 
one of them got one year in jail. 

I forgot to mention that the city officials of 
Salt Lake City are all Mormons, and it was these 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



247 



same city officials who not long since insulted 
American citizens by hanging- the stars and 
stripes at half-mast on the 4th of July. It was 
fully reported in the newspapers at the time, and 
bloodshed was only very narrowly avoided. 

Sometimes these zealots will resort to treacher- 
ous violence upon the authorized officers of the 
government, in the larger cities as well as on the 
outskirts of their dominions. Witness the case 
of Deputy Marshal Collins, who was set upon 
by four of these lusty Saints in a dark alley one 
night. Collins made a hard fight and succeeded 
in routing them. Three of his assailants escaped, 
but one had too much cold lead in him, so he 
was taken to the hospital for repairs. From 
there he was spirited away, long before he was 
well, by the Saints when they found out that he 
was to be tried for assault with intent to kill. 

A favorite theme with the Mormons is that no 
houses of prostitution existed in their domain 
before the Gentiles came among them. I am 
not prepared to affirm or deny this, for it may or 
may not be true; but I have it on good authority 
that something much more unsavory did exist 
among the Mormons themselves, and may be 
one of their peculiar practices to-day for aught 
I know. Can any institution be found outside 
of Mormonism, where a man can be a husband 
by proxy? It used to be the custom when a 



248 



A detective's experience 



Mormon went away on a mission anywhere, that 
a man was appointed, if deemed desirable, to fill 
his place, so that children might be raised for 
him and Zion built up during his absence. One 
case is known to me where the husband found 
an increased family on his return whose existence 
he was not responsible for. 

Talking of Mormon methods of combating 
apostates and Gentiles, who does not remember 
the case of Mr. and Mrs. Stenhouse a few years 
ago. They were apostates, and there was a 
very bitter feeling against them They were 
mobbed and submitted to the very roughest kind 
of treatment, being pelted in the public streets 
with filth gathered from the cess-pools of the 
city. The same methods have been resorted to 
in other cases, and within a very short period of 
time. A perusal of Salt Lake City papers will 
frequently bring cases before the eyes of any who 
may doubt it. 

I will close this chapter with a peculiarly hor- 
rible instance of brutal punishment visited on a 
Gentile who had attempted to marry a Mormon 
girl against the decrees of the Church. A man 
who was lately a Justice of the Peace assisted 
in the vengeful outrage, and the victim was 
mutilated in a manner too disgusting to be 
described in public print. This happened years 
ago when a Gentile was a rara avis y and had 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



249 



little or nothing to say. Of course such a crime 
could not be committed now without resulting in 
speedy retribution. 



250 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

A Queer Hiding-place — Mormons Seek and Find 
Refuge in a Jail— How Mormon Sheriffs Work. 

Before concluding the subject of arresting 
polygamists I want to give one more illustration 
of how well laid their plans are, and that they 
can call to their aid county officials — of course 
these officials being Mormons. It became nec- 
essary for me to make another trip to Paris, and 
as court was in progress there, information was 
received that all the prominent polygamists were 
walking around as large as life. I had to go 
anyway, as court was in session; so I concluded 
to go alone by train, for there would be plenty 
on whom I could call for assistance if needed. 
On reaching McCammon I discovered I could 
not go on that night, through some change in the 
railroad arrangements. I was not alone in my 
disappointment, for I found, to my disgust, that 
there was also a resident of Montpelier to lay 
over here on his way home. My face being 
pretty familiar in Montpelier, I supposed of 
course that he would recognize me. In order to 
know the worst, I at last spoke to him about the 
annoyance and inconvenience of having to stay 
over, and as he evidently did not know me, we 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



251 



continued to condole with each other. He asked 
me if I was going to stop at the hotel, but I told 
him I could not afford it, that my purse was too 
light and that I had little more than would pay 
my fare. I intended to try and stop at the 
section house, for if I should be seen by any of 
the parties at the hotel, my identity would soon 
be made known to him, and the trip might as 
well be abandoned. I contrived to get rid of 
him, and he saw no more of me until we were 
on the train. I put on a doleful countenance 
when he met me. I asked him if he thought 
there was any show to get a job on the railroad, 
in order to lull any suspicions he might have 
had. There was a party to meet me at Mont- 
pelier and tell me if the coast was clear ; but it 
was imperative that I should not be seen with 
him by my new Mormon friend, whom I shall 
call "Jim." To better accomplish my purpose, I 
lay down and pretended to be asleep, and he no 
doubt thought me poor company, for he got up 
and left me. The train changes engines at 
Montpelier, so a few minutes before the train 
started Jim came and woke me up, and T told 
him gruffly that I had changed my mind and was 
going on to Granger. He then left me, and as 
I saw the man who was to meet me on the plat- 
form, I tapped on the window, and after he came 
aboard I told him of the party who had been 



252 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

traveling with me. After considering the matter 
it was thought best for me not to be seen by him 
again, and I decided to get the conductor to 
slow up a mile or so out of town to enable me to 
jump off the train. My friend could then pick 
me up in a sleigh and we could decide what to 
do. I got off the train in a manner which would 
lead bystanders to suppose I was " bounced " off 
the train in default of paying my fare. After 
remaining in the brush a few minutes the team 
came along and we drove directly to the stable. 
The weather was pretty cold, and after making 
several excuses the party who was to take me 
over, from cowardice or some other cause, backed 
out of his agreement, though I subsequently 
found out that he went over alone. I was too 
well known here to show myself, and I had no 
alternative but to lay down and wait until even- 
ing. I could hear from railroad men who 
came to see me, that the most prominent men 
in the Mormon party were walking round Paris ; 
and as one person after another, including a 
prominent lawyer, came and told me of their 
movements, I could not avoid chafing at my 
helplessness. Here I was penned up only ten 
miles away from them, and for the time being 
unable to do anything to help myself. 

At dusk I was fortunately able to make 
arrangements for a sleigh and a couple of men 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



253 



to go to Paris with me. We started about mid- 
night, and as it was only a ride of a couple of 
hours we got there about two in the morning. I 
went to the houses of several of the most promi- 
nent Mormons without finding any of them. On 
leaving the last residence I noticed that one of 
the inmates, a young man about twenty-six years 
old, was following me up, and as he continued to 
do so I at last got tired and told him that if he 
persisted in poking his nose into my business 
that I would be compelled to put strings on him. 
I warned him back two or three times, but found 
him dogging me still, so I pulled out a pair of 
handcuffs and snapped them under his nose, and 
was about to fasten them on him when he 
showed signs of weakening, and said: " Judge 
Hayes is stopping at Brother Stuckie's ; I would 
like to ask him if I hain't got a right to go round 
this town if I want to." 

"All right," said I; "here is Stuckie's. 
Knock at the door and you can see the Judge. 
I am not finding fault with you walking all over 
Paris. What I object to is your tagging round 
after me and interfering with my business." 

It was bitterly cold, and as we knocked our 
heels together and rubbed our ears to keep 
them from freezing, I could not help wishing 
Paris and all its inhabitants had sunk before I 
ever took the trip. The door was opened, so I 



254 



A detective's experience 



told the young man to see the Judge as soon as 
possible, and we went up-stairs, Mrs. Stuckie in 
the meantime scowling at me in the highest style 
of the art. I had left a man outside to watch 
the exit of any one. After the Judge had dressed 
and come out, the Mormon asked him if he had 
not a right to go where he pleased in the town. 
The Judge told him he had, and asked him who 
had anything to say about it. I said I had, and 
I burst into laughter. I could not help it when 
I contemplated my surroundings. Here was 
I, out hunting polygamists, and the only party I 
could find in a polygamist house was the Judge 
before whom they were tried ; and a Judge, too, 
who showed by the sentences he invariably 
imposed on them that so far as he was concerned 
Mormons had very little to expect but justice 
" right from the shoulder." I explained to the 
Judge that I was making a house to house can- 
vass that night, and that this young man had been 
following me up and that I was beginning to get 
a little weary of it, but I thought I would give 
him an opportunity to find out his rights, as I 
had no object in getting him into trouble. After 
the Judge explained to him that he was trans- 
gressing and that I was right, he went off, and I 
proceeded to search the house. I could find no 
one, however, and just before my departure I 
asked Mrs. Stuckie if Brother Stuckie was liable 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



255 



to be at the residences of either of his other 
wives. She said I was misinformed as to the 
number of ladies who with her shared Mr. 
Stuckie's heart and homes. I thereupon drew 
from my pocket a map of the town I had with 
me, she was convinced I knew what I was talk- 
ing about. Finally I went away and searched 
the other houses, with a like result. Every man 
in Paris had been warned by this time, and the 
warning must have been given by those who 
professed to be friends of mine, for I had not 
been seen by a single Mormon since my 
arrival. 

As I had some work to do in connection with 
arrests made on my other trip, I got away from 
Paris about daylight. Cold as the weather was, 
the young Mormon boys were flying about in 
every direction with the news of my arrival. A 
word of explanation regarding the finding of 
Judge Hayes in Brother Stuckie's house. Paris, 
as I have before said, is inhabited entirely by Mor- 
mons, and there is not such a thing as a hotel in 
it. The Mormon leaders vie with each other in 
showing hospitality and favors to all whom they 
fear, or wish to curry favor with. As Judge 
Hayes had to hold court there for a week or ten 
days once in each year, he has no alternative 
but to stop at a Mormon house ; but as he 
understands the Mormons pretty thoroughly, he 



256 



A detective's EXPERIENCE 



takes their little attentions for what they are 
worth, and I have no doubt he would get along 
without being a guest in their houses if he 
could. 

I got back to Montpelier about ten o'clock that 
morning, and after discharging the boys and the 
team, I made arrangements to leave, for it was 
Saturday and I was anxious to get home before 
Sunday. As I sat thinking the matter over, and 
talking with some of the railroad boys, I made 
up my mind to stay and try to take a couple of 
the Montpelier Saints back with me. The sheriff 
from Paris, a good Saint named Moulton, followed 
me into Montpelier, and he and I had a good 
laugh over my ill success the night before. He 
was if anything too pleasant, introduced me to 
another good Saint named Osborne, and it did 
not take me very long to find that they were 
shadowing me. 

About an hour before the train arrived, I took 
them into one of the bar-rooms and said, as we 
took a drink : " Now, fellows, this is probably the 
last time I will bother this section of the country. 
Well, you tell me where the Polygs flew so 
quickly last night ! They were all seen at seven 
o'clock, but when I arrived not one was in 
sight. I turned up everything but the jail, and 
by omitting that I got left." 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



257 



Moulton flushed up and said : ''How do you 
know?" 

" Because a friend of mine in Montpelier 
gave it away," said h 

"Oh, I guess not," returned he. 

"It does not make any difference now," I con- 
tinued. "It is my place to catch them, and their 
place to get away ; but I don't think it is giving 
a fellow a square deal to hide in a jail." He 
did not attempt to deny it. 

As train-time drew near I went over to the 
depot, and Moulton and Osborne were there to 
bid me good-by. I also noticed the young Mor- 
mon (his name I found to be Shupe) who rode 
out with me from McCammon among the num- 
ber of people on the platform. Seing a railroad 
man who was a friend of mine, I went over to 
him and told him to keep his eye on Moulton, 
Osborne and Shupe, for there was something 
in the wind that I was not up to. Before the 
train pulled in I found their programme was to 
be as follows : Shupe was to go as far as Soda 
Springs, and see that I left the country. If I 
went on he was to telegraph them, then catch a 
freight and come back. I got talking to Moulton 
and Osborne again, but gave them no intimation 
that I knew anything about their scheme. I 
spoiled their game as far as telegrams were con- 
cerned. Finally, when the train pulled in, I 



258 



A detective's experience 



jumped aboard after bidding them an effusive 
farewell. The Judge was aboard and his eyes 
began to twinkle when he saw me. 

"A pretty cold morning when I saw you last, 
Fred," said he. 

" Yes, your Honor, and it has stayed cold ever 
since for me ; my trip has amounted to nothing, 
and I hate to ride so many miles for my health 
with the thermometer frozen." 

"Well," returned his Honor, "you cannot 
always expect success. You have had pretty 
good luck so far." 

By this time I was about four miles from 
Montpelier, and saying farewell to the Judge I 
went out on the car platform. The engineer had 
been asked to slow up so as to give me a chance 
to jump off. As soon as he saw a good snow- 
bank, and perceiving that I was ready, he slowed 
up slightly, though not enough to make it notice- 
able to Shupe, who went onin blissful ignorance 
of my doings. I jumped off, walked back to 
Montpelier and went directly to the caboose of a 
railroad friend who was running a train there. I 
asked him to go and see a friend of mine whom I 
mentioned, and ask him to come down to meet 
me at the caboose that night at ten o'clock ; that 
I would take him with me and pay him well for 
his trouble. In the meantime, as I had not slept 
any the night before, I took a nap, and about 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



259 



half-past ten the party I was expecting came 
along. The both of us then made for the Upper 
Town, and for once I thought I had a sure thing, 
but as it had been the night before so was it 
now. They had been already warned and no 
one was in sight. Again disappointed, I returned 
to Lower Town after going through the house 
of every polygamist in Montpelier. Moultonand 
Osborne had stayed up all night waiting for 
Shupe to get back, and in the meantime I had 
enough evidence to convict Shupe of obstructing 
a United States officer ; so when the Mormon 
trio came down during the day to give me the 
laugh, I took Brother Shupe with me to Oxford. 
He was tried and fined one hundred dollars, and 
the fine was paid by the Church. I should have 
mentioned that a Mormon mob was formed at 
Montpelier for the express purpose of mobbing 
me, but to the credit of the railroad men let me 
say that they stood by me, and probably saved 
me from some rough treatment. 



260 A detective's experience 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Anti-Mormon Champions — Poker and Prayer — The 
Test- Oath — The New West Academies — Orthodox 
Churches to the Rescue. 

And now a short chapter to the men who, by 
their untiring efforts, have above all others been 
instrumental in putting a stop to the iniquitous 
practices of the Church. 

At one time, and not so very far back either, 
Gentiles who went into Utah for the purpose of 
doing business, had everything against them. 
They were handicapped and boycotted to such 
an extent that failure was almost a foregone con- 
clusion. The Mormon signboard is familiar to 
all who have ever been out in their country — it 
consists of an eye with the words " Holiness to 
the Lord" over the top, and "Zion's Co-oper- 
ative Mercantile Institution " painted underneath. 
To the uninitiated this sign would suggest re- 
ligion and piety, and a stranger would be very 
likely to think that people who would have the 
eye of Providence and an exhortation to holiness 
over their places of business could not be very 
bad. But this sign has, in fact, a very different 
meaning to the dupes who live under the iron 
rule of Mormonism. It means that the Eye of 
the Church is ever upon them, and as all these 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



26l 



Zion stores are conducted in the interests of the 
Church, the sign is highly suggestive of a caution 
not to trade with Gentiles. An old Irishman 
put yet a different interpretation on this sign. 
He had been wandering up and down the streets 
of Salt Lake City, and seeing an eye over nearly 
every place of business, and being unable to 
read the inscription on it, he was heard to re- 
mark : " Faith, av all these eye docthers can 
make a living here, it's toime I was immigratin' 
fwile I can see to git away." 

But as this chapter is to be devoted to the 
men who have come to the front in checking the 
influence for evil of Mormonism and its institu- 
tions, we will hasten on. 

First and foremost, that honest and fearless 
newspaper, the Salt Lake Tribune^ deserves 
especially to be mentioned. It is to-day, and has 
been for years, the champion of Gentile rights in 
the Mormon stronghold and if the Mormon 
people were asked to give their candid opinion 
as to what was the most potent anti-Mormon 
agency, they would probably say it was this nervy 
publication. United States Judge Zanehas won 
the respect and admiration of all by the manner 
in which he has administered justice to Mormon 
and Gentile alike, vindicating the disregarded and 
all but obsolete laws with an integrity of purpose 
which was re-assuring and comforting in view of 



262 



A detective's experience 



the past condition of affairs. Let me add the 
names of Hon. E. A. Ireland, late U. S. Marshal 
for Utah; United States Attorney Dixon, with 
Assistant- Attorney Varien; Judge McKay, U. S. 
Commissioner. Add to these in Idaho the 
Idaho Reporter of Blackfoot, and the Eagle Rock 
Register; Judge J. B. Hayes of the Third Judi- 
cial District, whose impartial administration of 
justice is conceded by all — Mormon and Gentile 
alike; Hon. H. M. Bennett of Oxford, prosecut- 
ing attorney of Bingham county, chairman of the 
Anti-Mormon Committee; Hon. H. W. Smith of 
Blackfoot, widely known as " Kentucky Smith," 
the author of the memorable test-oath, a copy of 
which is appended; Hon. Fred T. Dubois, ex-U. S. 
Marshal and now member of Congress from 
Idaho. He came to the territories from Spring- 
field, Illinois, and is a son of the late Hon. Jesse 
K. Dubois who was well known as a friend of 
Abraham Lincoln. It is to the efforts of such men 
as I have mentioned that anything at all has 
been and is being done in the direction of stamp- 
ing out this national disgrace. 

Mormons and Gentiles can never affiliate with 
each other. It is true that in places like Salt 
Lake City they can run along without much fric- 
tion, but in the smaller towns and on the up- 
country ranches, the Gentile will have a very 
slim chance of getting along. There are hun- 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



265 



dreds of Mormons living to-day who know of 
valuable mineral ledges which have been hidden 
by the express orders of Brigham Young, lest 
the Gentiles should profit by them. There are 
millions of acres of good land that could be 
utilized if irrigated at a comparatively small 
expense; but Gentiles do not feel safe in going 
out to develop these resources until the Na- 
tional Government can give assurance that they 
can not only farm their lands or work their mines, 
but also worship their God in the freedom and 
security contemplated by the constitution of the 
United States. The Mormons will readily admit 
all this to be fair enough, and say they ask for 
nothing more, thus often gaining to some extent 
the sympathy and good will of many who do not 
know the true inwardness of their system. I 
was told only recently in Chicago of several 
people who had been among the Mormons, 
and had been very favorably impressed by them. 
I do not doubt this, and I am not at all surprised 
at it. Mormons are much like the rest of human- 
ity in some things. They do not generally put 
out their worst side for the inspection of strangers; 
they are generally on " dress parade" for the 
reception of visitors, and use their utmost 
endeavors to favorably impress all from the out- 
side world. It should not be forgotten that their 
converts are deceived into joining with them, and 



266 A DETECTIVE'S experience 



there are thousands who to-day wish they had 
never become Mormons, now that they have 
found out what the stern reality is. Most, if not 
all, the works I have read on Mormonism and 
Polygamy have been written from the standpoint 
and authority of a visit to Salt Lake City, and 
the authors know about as much of the truth as 
the aforesaid Irishman did of the sign inscription. 
If you want to see Mormonism as it is — undi- 
luted and undisturbed by any mixture with the 
restraints of civilization — go into the back settle- 
ments; take in some of their country meeting- 
houses; listen to their sermons, if possible 
without letting any one know you are a Gentile, 
and the chances are that outside ofa tirade against 
Gentiles you will hear nothing. Everything 
will be touched but religion; of Christ and Him 
crucified you will seldom hear from a Mormon 
preacher. He is much more likely to give the 
faithful some advice about farming — the best 
manure to use for vegetables, how to raise chick- 
ens, the best methods of breeding cattle, etc., 
etc., are common subjects of religious (?) dis- 
course. 

A Mormon Deacon with whom I am well ac- 
quainted will furnish as good an example of the 
class of men who do the exhorting and preach- 
ing as any I know. He is a very good sort of 
fellow in his way, is a close, hard hand at poker, 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



267 



can swear like a trooper, and should circum- 
stances demand it, he can take care of himself in 
a rough-and-tumble fight. One Saturday night 
not very long ago, he happened to be engaged 
in a little game of poker, which as they con- 
tinued to play became very interesting. As hour 
after hour went by it was clear that the Deacon 
was uneasy in his mind about something. The 
game went on, however, through the small hours 
of the Sabbath morning, until at last meeting 
time came, and the Deacon said he could play 
no longer as he had "to go and open up that 
meetin' with prayer." The fellows he was play- 
ing with objected, and said he was only quitting 
the game because he was ahead. At this the 
good Deacon's feelings were hurt, and he said: 

"Any d d man who accuses me that way 

has to fight. I am gwine to open that meetm' 
with pra'ar, but that does not hinder me from 
putting a head on any man that accuses me of 
jumping the game." And with a very few 
words he pitched in, and but for the interference 
of the bystanders would have given the object 
of his wrath a severe thrashing. After he 
cooled down he said: 

" I kin lick any man that 'cuses me wrong- 
fully, or tries to keep me from meetin'. He 
knows I am Deacon thar, an' hed to open up 
the game over thar with pra'r." 



268 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



I don't know what kind of prayer he offered 
on that Sunday morning, but pray he did, and 
does to this day. 



The test oath, to which we have referred, is 
an oath which is put to all office-holders, and 
with slight variation to voters and jurors. So 
far it has only been adopted in the Territory of 
Idaho, and for the time it has been in use, 
it has proved a bulwark of strength to the ad- 
ministration of justice. If its value were gauged 
by the hatred the Mormons bear its author, 
there can be no doubt about the advisibility of 
its adoption in Utah, and, indeed, wherever else 
Mormonism exists. The following is a copy 
of it: 

"oath of office. 

" I, , do solemnly swear that I am a 

male citizen of the United States, and over the 
age of twenty-one years. That I had actually 
resided in Idaho Territory for the period of four 
months, and in this county thirty days next pre- 
ceding the date of my election (or appointment). 
That I am not a member of any order, sect or or- 
ganization which teaches, advises or encourages 
the practice of bigamy or polygamy, or any other 
crime defined by law, as a duty or privilege re- 
sulting or arising from the faith or practice of 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



269 



such order, sect or organization, or that teaches, 
counsels, encourages or advises any person or 
persons to commit the crime of bigamy or polyg- 
amy, or any other crime defined by law, as a 
religious duty. That I am not a bigamist or a 
polygamist, nor do I cohabit with any woman 
other than my lawful wife. That I do not either 
publicly or privately teach, counsel, encourage 
or advise any person or persons to enter into 
bigamous or polygamous relations, or into 
relations known as Plural or Celestial Marriage. 
That I regard the Constitution of the United 
States and the laws thereof, and of this Terri- 
tory, as interpreted by the Courts, as the 
supreme law of the land, and that I will support 
and uphold the same, the teachings of any order, 
sect or organization to the contrary notwith- 
standing. That I will discharge the duties of 

the office of according to law, and the 

best of my ability, so help me God." 

Another instrument of good, and one that is 
making itself felt, is the dissemination of knowl- 
edge by the "New West Academies." These 
institutions are scattered through the country 
through the efforts of one of the Christian 
denominations, and I believe they haue been 
endowed to some extent by some deceased 
member of the Church that controls them. They 
are strictly unsectarian, and Mormon and Gen- 



270 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



tile are alike welcome. For a merely nominal 
sum a person can have the advantages of a good 
education, and there is no doubt that they have 
been a means of doing much good among the 
younger members of the Mormon Church, where 
their parents or guardians have allowed them to 
attend. A few of the more liberal-minded Mor- 
mons embrace the opportunity gladly, but by far 
the greater number of this most fanatical people 
say they would sooner see their children taken 
to the graveyard than to an educational estab- 
lishment conducted by Gentiles. 

The Presbyterians have established many 
churches throughout Mormondom. The Metho- 
dists have also been strenuous in their efforts to 
bring these poor benighted creatures up higher ; 
and through the indefatigable endeavors of their 
genial Bishop, Rev. T. C. Iliff of Salt Lake City, 
have given Methodism a foothold that is felt 
everywhere. Through the efforts of the Bishop 
and his coadjutors every year sees new churches 
built, and no matter how slim the chances are 
for a congregation, the church has to go up, and 
the good Bishop puts his trust in God to pay the 
bills. Good schools are also established and 
conducted in connection with the churches. The 
one in Oxford is presided over by Rev. J. E. 
Turner, an enthusiastic worker, and one whose 
labors promise an abundant harvest. Several 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



271 



young ladies have graduated from these schools, 
and are now themselves earning good salaries 
as teachers of district schools. This has been 
only possible since the adoption of the test oath 
given above, for in the past the schoolboards 
were composed entirely of Mormons, and no 
Gentile need apply for a position as teacher. 

It is most earnestly hoped that no relapse 
will occur, and that the hands of those who are 
engaged in the good work will be held up as 
they deserve. The cause is one worthy of the 
moral and financial support of all who believe 
in freedom and good government. 



272 



A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 



MORMON HYMNS. 

Below will be found a few of the soul-stirring 
hymns sung by the Saints. They are, as you 
may plainly see, full of pathos, and could only 
have emanated from the brain of a man who 
had religion deep down in his soul. You cannot 
fail to be pleased with " Upper California, O ! " 
by John Taylor, President of the Mormon Church, 
and then, " The God That Others Worship Is 
Not the God for Me, " how beautiful the senti- 
ment! how touching ! These are a fair aver- 
age ; we could give more, but think these will 
appeal to the reader : 

HYMN 299. (P.M.) 

1 The Upper California, O, that's the land for me! 

It lies between the mountains and the great Pacific sea ; 

The Saints can be supported there, 

And taste the sweets of liberty 
In Upper California — Oh, that's the land fo. 

Oh, that's, &c. 

2 We'll go and lift our standard, we'll go there and be free; 
We'll go to California and have our jubilee, 

A land that blooms with beauty rare, 
A land of life and liberty, 
With flocks and herds abounding — Oh, that's the land for me! 
Oh, that's, &c. 

3 We'll burst off all our fetters and break the Gentile yoke, 
For long it has beset us, but now it shall be broke • 

No more shall Jacob bow his neck ; 
Henceforth he shall be great and free 
In Upper California — Oh, that's the land for me ! 
Oh, that's, &c. 

4 We'll reign, we'll rule and triumph, and God shall be our King; 
The plains, the hills and valleys shall with hosannas ring ; 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



273 



Our towers and temples there shall rise 
Along the great Pacific Sea, 
In Upper California — Oh, that's the land for me ! 
Oh, that's, &c. 

5 We'll ask our cousin Lemuel to join us heart and hand, 
And sptead abroad our curtains throughout fair Zion's land : 

Till this is done we'll pitch our tents 
Along the great Pacific Sea, 
In Upper California — Oh, that's the land for me ! 
Oh, that's, &c. 

6 Then join with me, my brethren, and let us hasten there ; 
We'll lift our glorious standard and raise our houSe of prayer ; 

We'll call on all the nations round 
To join our standard and be free 
In Upper California — Oh, that's the land for me ! 
Oh, that's. &c. 



HYMN 297. (P.M.) 

1 The God that otners worship is not the God for me ; 
He has no parts nor body, and cannot hear nor see ; 
But I've a God that reigns above — 

A God of power and of love — 

A God of revelation — Oh, that's the God for me ! 

Oh, that's the God for me ! 

Oh, that's the God for me ! 

2 A Church without a Prophet is not the Church for me ; 
It has no head to lead it ; in it I would not be ; 

But I've a Church not made by man, 
Cut from the mountain without hand ; 

A Church with gifts and blessings — Oh, that's the Church for me. 
Oh, that's, &c. 

3 A Church without Apostles is not the Churcn ior me 
'Tis like a ship dismasted, afloat upon the sea ; 

But I've a Church that's always led. 
With the Twelve Stars around her head ; 

A Church with good foundation — Oh, that's the Church for me. 
Oh, that's, &c. 

4 The Hope that Gentiles cherish is not the hope for me ; 
It h^as no faith nor knowledge ! far from it I would be : 
But I've a hope that will not fail ; 

It reaches far within the vail ; 

Which Hope is like an anchor — Oh, that's the Hope for me. 
Oh, that's, &c. 

5 The Heaven of sectarians is not the Heaven for me, 
So doubtful its location — neither on land nor sea ; 



A detective's experience 



But I've a Heaven upon the earth — 
The land and home that gave me birth ; 

A Heaven of light and knowledge — Oh, that's the Heaven for 
Oh, that's, &c. 

6 A Church without a gathering is not the Church for me ; 
The Savior would not own it, wherever it might be ; 
But I've a Church that is called out 
From false tradition, fear and doubt — 
A gathering dispensation — Oh, that's the Church for me. 
Oh, that's, &c. 



HYMN 296. (L.M.D.) 

1 O give me back my Prophet dear, 
And Patriarch, O give them back, 
The Saints of Latter-days to cheer, 
And lead them in the Gospel track. 

But Oh ! they're gone from my embrace — 
From earthly scenes their spirits fled ; 
Two of the best of Adam's race 
Now lie entombed among the dead. 

2 Ye men of wisdom, tell me why, 

"When guilt nor crime in them were found, 
Why now their blood doth loudly cry 
From prison walls and Carthage ground ? 
Your tongues are mute, but pray attend, 
The secret I will now relate, 
Why those, whom God to earth did lend, 
Have met the suffering martyr's fate. 

3 It is because they strove to gain, 
Beyond the grave, a heaven of bliss, — 
Because they made the Gospel plain, 
And led the Saints in righteousness ; 
It is because God called them forth, 
And led them by his own right hand, 
Christ's coming to proclaim on earth, 
And gather Israel to their land. 

4 It is because the priests of Baal 
Were desperate their craft to save ; 
And when they saw it doomed to fail ; 
They sent the Prophets to their grave. 
Like scenes the ancient Prophets saw ; 
Like these, the ancient Prophets fell ; 
And, till the resurrection dawn, 
Prophet and Patriarch — fare you well. 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



275 



HYMN 326. (CM.) 

1 How have the nations grown corrupt ! 

How, from their natural use, 
Men their life-giving powers pervert 
By wanton, lewd abuse. 

2 The holy ties of wedded life, 

Are cloaks for the profane, 
While lust and mammon desecrate, 
Where faith and love should reign. 

3 Adult'rers gain the world's applause, 

As men of honored fame ; 
Women, though weak, defenceless, pure, 
Are branded with the shame. 

4 Is there no home ? There is ! While men 

Rush on from bad to worse, 
Jehovah speaks, lest all the earth 
Be smitten with a curse ; — 

5 " He, who one talent has abused, 

Hear it ! ye sons of men, 
Shall lose it, and it shall be given 
To him who improves ten. 

6 " Through him who holds the sealing power, 

Ye faithful ones who heed 
Celestial laws, take many wives, 
And rear a righteous seed. 

7 " Though fools revile I'll honor you, 

As Abraham, my friend ; 
You shall be Gods, and shall be blest 
With lives that never end. " 



HYMN 283. (12's.) 

1 Come to me, will ye come to the Saints that have died, 
To the next better world where the righteous reside, — 
Where the angels and spirits in harmony be, 

In the joys of a vast Paradise ? Come to me. 

2 Come to me, where the truth and the virtues prevail, 
Where the union is one, and the years never fail, 
Where the heart can't conceive, nor the natural eye see 
What the Lord has prepared for the just: Come to me. 

3 Come to me, where there is no destruction nor war, 
Neither tyrants nor mobbers, nor nations ajar } 



2/6 



A detective's experience 



Where the system is perfect, and happiness free, 
And the life is eternal with God : Come to me. 

4 Come to me, will ye come to the mansions above, 
Where the bliss and the knowledge, the light and the love, 
And the glory of God shall eternally be? 

Death, the wages of sin is not here : Come to me. 

5 Come to me; here are Adam and Eve at the head 
Of a multitude quickened and raised from the dead; 
Here's the knowledge that was, or that is, or will be, 
In the general assembly of worlds: Come to me. 

6 Come to me; here's the myst'ry that man hath not seen — 
Here's our Father in Heaven, and Mother, the Queen. 
Here are worlds that have been, and the worlds yet to be ; 
Here's eternity — endless: Amen. Come to me. 

7 Come to me, all ye faithful and blest of Nauvoo ; 
Come, ye Twelve, and ye High Priests, and Seventies, too; 
Come, ye Elders, and all of the great company, 

When you've finished your work on the earth : Come to me. 

8 Come to me; here's the future, the present and past; 
Here is Alpha, Omega, the first and the last; 

Here's the " Fountain," the " River of Life," and the " Tree ! " 
Here's your Prophet and Seer, Joseph Smith : Come to me. 

Now, as the God that others worship is not 
the God for them, we herewith append a letter 
from Bay Port, Michigan, dated March 12th, 
1887, which will give an idea of the kind of a 
God they do worship and their peculiar way of 
worshiping Him. Seeing an account in a Chicago 
paper of a fracas at Bay Port, Michigan, of that 
date, and knowing their peculiar methods I 
wrote the gentleman whose name was mentioned 
in connection, and received the following in 
reply : 

Bay Port, Huron Co., Mich., March 12, 1887. 

F. E. Bennett, Chicago, III. : 

Thy letter of the 9th addressed John B. Davis 
was put into my hands last evening, and appears 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



277 



to be designed for me, though I am not 
instructed of my Lord to be called " Rev.," and 
my Christian name and middle initial are not 
"John B." 

As to the excitement and events connected 
with the recent debate, I have requested the 
most competent witness of the whole affair in 
the neighborhood, Joseph Snell, to send thee 
some account of the matter, as it ill becomes me 
to figure in the double capacity of debater and 
reporter. 

Sincerely, thy servant in X. 

Wm. F. Davis. 

Some erroneous accounts having got into the 
papers in regard to the debate between Elder 
J. J. Cornish, Mormon or " Latterday Saint" 
preacher, and Rev. Wm. F. Davis, General 
Missionary and Evangelist, I deem it proper 
to make the following statement of facts in 
reference thereto. Elder Cornish had been 
holding a series of meetings here (near Bay Port, 
Mich.), for about six weeks with but slight inter- 
ruption. By his shrewdness, craft and cunning 
as well as by the audacity and boldness of his 
claims, he had led captive a large portion of the 
community, and filled them with a large share 
of his own spirit of hatred and dislike to all per- 
sons and ideas opposed to Joseph Smith and his 
Mormon Bible. Mr. Davis came here by invita- 



278 



A DETECTIVE S EXPERIENCE 



tion to hold gospel meetings, or to take up the 
Mormon question as he should think desirable. 
The school-house was the only available place in 
the vicinity for holding public meetings. It was 
there that Mr. Davis was to hold his meetings, 
Mr. Cornish having transferred his appointments 
to other points, with the exception of an occa- 
sional sermon. At the close of Mr. Davis's first 
meeting he submitted to the congregation the 
matter of taking up, the Mormon question; by 
an almost unanimous vote he was requested to 
do so. Thinking that Mr. Cornish might wish 
to be present, or take part in the discussion, said 
he would not then fix the time for taking up the 
subject. Finally, when they met Mr. Cornish, in 
both speeches, confined himself to the setting 
forth of their religious views upon the subjects 
of baptism, the millenium, the resurrection, 
future punishment, etc., but not going beyond 
our Scriptures. 

Mr. Davis endeavored to draw him out on 
Joseph Smith and his Mormon Bible, but did not 
succeed. So the discussion had only been 
initiated at the close of the first meeting. There 
was some talk of continuing the debate an hour 
longer, but a gentleman in the middle of the 
audience, said his wife was sick and he must be 
let out. Mr. Cornish made a very insulting 
reply, and the chairman, a Cornishite, sprang to 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



279 



his feet and remarked that that woman was in 
the habit of going to meetings and getting sick 
— an entirely gratuitous statement. High words 
began to pass, the man with a sick wife declaring 
he would get out if he had to force his way, and 
expressed the wish that he was where he could 
lay his hands on Mr. Cornish. The confusion 
increased, and a tumult seemed imminent ; a 
number of women and children were helped out 
of the windows. But the crowd dispersed 
without violence. The next day Mr. Davis saw 
a justice of the peace and earnestly requested 
him to be at the school-house early, and to keep 
open two aisles, so that egress could be had, as 
he did not think a house so filled as that was on 
the previous evening either safe or lawful. How- 
ever when Mr. Davis reached the house, a little 
after 6 p. m., he found the condition about the 
same as that of the evening previous. Making 
his way into the body of the house, Mr. Davis 
called the attention of the chairman to the packed 
and still packing condition of the house, and 
said he could not consent to speak unless two 
aisles should be cleared (there being five) so as 
to give ingress and egress when required. At 
once there arose an unseemly confusion. Mr. 
Cornish told the people not to move. Others 
called out that Mr. Davis was a coward and 
wanted to back out. The chairman told him to 



280 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



come forward to the platform or own that he was 
beaten, and much more of the same sort of talk 
was heard. A motion was passed that Mr. 
Davis should come forward "like a man" and 
proceed with the debate. From the show of 
hands it clearly appeared that the body of the 
house was almost entirely filled with " Cornish- 
ites," they having come first. Mr. Davis, who 
fears nothing so much as wrong-doing, was 
unmoved by all these taunts and jeers, and 
insisted on his point. Failing, however, to accom- 
plish anything, he made an appointment for 
2 o'clock P. m. the next day, when he would 
proceed with his examination of the subject in 
hand, and then retired, followed by many of his 
friends. Scarcely had Mr. Davis left the house 
when quite a tumult arose. A young man near 
the front sprang up and rushed over the desks 
toward the door to reach some one who had 
made some insulting remark that he fancied was 
addressed to himself. A rush of the " Cornish- 
ites" from near the stand at once followed, some 
to take part in the fight and some to prevent 
one. The crowd became alarmed. Egress at 
the door was impossible. Many women and 
children were helped out of the windows, fol- 
lowed by men. A constable seized the belligerent 
young man near the door, so the fight was off, 
but confusion was on. The chairman, a stalwart 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



28l 



six-footer, threw off his coat and vest, laid his 
pocket-book (but not his pistol) on the table, 
and seizing his chair walked out into the tumultu- 
ous mass and demanded order at the point of 
his chair legs. After the lapse of some time and 
the departure of many people, order was finally 
restored. Mr. Cornish and his friends indulged 
in a good deal of foolish and high-sounding talk 
about their so-called victory, and passed some 
equally foolish resolutions, and then Mr. Cornish 
proceeded alone with his part of the discussion. 
Subsequently the writer learned from different 
persons, friends of Mr. Cornish, that poles were 
brought to the school-house on the second night 
of the debate, for the ostensible purpose of rail- 
riding Mr. Davis, and the chairman distinctly 
stated to him that he wished to and " did his 
best to raise a fight " on the second night. But 
the friends of Mr. Davis had no disposition to 
create any disturbance. 

Mr. Davis continued his appointments after- 
noon and evening until he had gone over the 
whole subject, including the history of the Mor- 
mon Bible and Joseph Smith. He distinctly 
pointed out many false deductions, that Mr. 
Cornish drew from his Scripture quotations, 
reading his quotations chiefly from the Greek 
text, in order that the true sense might more 
distinctly appear. All who heard him through 



282 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



must have been convinced that the claims of 
Joseph Smith for himself and his Bible were 
stupendous frauds. 

From the best information I have derived from 
a variety of sources, it appears that Mr. Cornish 
pursued here the usual course adopted by the 
" Latter-day Saints." They first set forth those 
religious doctrines founded on a literal view of 
the Scripture, and which have been held by 
many Christians for centuries, and which will not 
be likely to be offensive to the common people. 
At the same time a systematic and continuous 
attack is made upon the honesty and integrity of 
the clergy of all other denominations, and so also 
of all history and all testimony that comes from 
outside their own sources. They are all the 
time telling their hearers that other ministers are 
after their money and must pass around the hat 
after almost every sermon. The encyclopedias 
he calls novels, and to prove it points to some 
statement therein in regard to themselves, which 
he claims to be false, but which upon investiga- 
tion will turn out to be substantially true. The 
mobs that tarred and feathered Joseph Smith 
and Sidney Rigdon, and that assassinated Joseph 
and Hiram Smith were lead by " rev. divines," 
and so of any other acts of violence that the 
Mormons may have suffered from the incensed 
people. Many people run after those swindling 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



283 



advertisements that promise large value for mere 
nothing, because they hope to obtain something 
valuable, without the toil and sacrifice of fairly 
earning it. So people are ever anxious to pry 
into the mysterious and unknown, and many are 
ever ready to take a short cut to a knowledge of 
Divine things through prophets and cheap 
revelations, when the only way to obtain them 
is to deserve them through that purity and eleva- 
tion of character, which alone can enable men to 
grasp them. 

APPENDIX. 

We append a few verses from the alleged 
revelation of the marriage covenant, including 
plurality of wives: 

SECTION 132. 

Revelation on the Eternity of the Marriage 
Covenant, including Plurality of Wives. 
Given through Joseph, the Seer, in Nauvoo, 
Hancock County, Illinois, July 12th, 1843. 

1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my 
servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have in- 
quired of my hand, to know and understand 
wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants, Abra- 
ham, Isaac and Jacob ; as also Moses, David 
and Solomon, my servants, as touching the prin- 



284 



A detective's experience 



ciple and doctrine of their having many wives 
and concubines. 

* * * * * * # 

14. And verily I say unto you, that the con- 
ditions of this law are these: — All covenants, 
contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, per- 
formances, connections, associations, or expecta- 
tions, that are not made, and entered into, and 
sealed, by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him 
who is anointed, both as well for time and for all 
eternity, and that, too, most holy, by revelation 
and commandment through the medium of mine 
anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth 
to hold this power, (and I have appointed unto 
my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last 
days, and there is never but one on the earth at 
a time, on whom this power and the keys of this 
Priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, 
virtue or force, in and after the resurrection from 
the dead; for all contracts that are not made 
unto this end, have an end when men are 
dead. 

* * # # * * * 

15. Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in 
the world, and he marry her not by me, nor by 
my word; and he covenant with her so long as 
he is in the world, and she with him, their cove- 
nant and marriage are not of force when they 
are dead, and when they are out of the world; 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



285 



therefore, they are not bound by any law when 
they are out of the world; 

16. Therefore, when they are out of the 
world, they neither marry, nor are given in mar- 
riage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which 
angels are ministering servants, to minister for 
those who are worthy of a far more, and an ex- 
ceeding, and an eternal weight of glory; 

17. For these angels did not abide my law, 
therefore they cannot be enlarged, but remain 
separately and singly, without exaltation, in their 
saved condition, to all eternity, and from hence- 
forth are not Gods, but are angels of God, for 
ever and ever. 

18. And again, verily I say unto you, if a 
man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her 
for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is 
not by me, or by my word, which is my law, and 
is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, 
through him whom I have anointed and ap- 
pointed unto this power — then it is not valid, 
neither of force when they are out of the world, 
because they are not joined by me, saith the 
Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of 
the world, it cannot be received there, because 
the angels and the Gods are appointed there, by 
whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, 
inherit my glory, for my house is a house of 
order, saith the Lord God. 



286 



A detective's experience 



19. And again, verily I say unto you, if a 
man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, 
and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it 
is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of prom- 
ise by him who is anointed, unto whom I have 
appointed this power, and the keys of this Priest- 
hood; and it shall be said unto them, ye shall 
come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be 
after the first resurrection, in the next resurrec- 
tion; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, princi- 
palities, and powers, dominions, all heights and 
depths — then shall it be written in the Lamb's 
Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder 
whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide 
in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby 
to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto 
them in all things whatsoever my servant hath 
put upon them, in time, and through all eternity, 
and shall be of full force when they are out of 
the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and 
the Gods which are set there, to their exaltation 
and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon 
their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and 
a continuation of the seeds for ever and ever. 

20. Then shall they be Gods, because they 
have no end; therefore shall they be from ever- 
lasting to everlasting, because they continue; 
then shall they be above all, because all things 
are subject unto them. Then shall they be 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



287 



Gods, because they have all power, and the 
angels are subject unto them. 

***** * * 

26. Verily, verily I say unto you, if a man 
marry a wife according to my word, and they 
are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, accord- 
ing to mine appointment, and he or she shall 
commit any sin or transgression of the new and 
everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner 
of blasphemies, and if they commit no murder, 
wherein they shed innocent blood — yet they 
shall come forth in the first resurrection, and 
enter into their exaltation ; but they shall be 
destroyed in the flesh, and shall be delivered 
unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of re- 
demption, saith the Lord God. 

******* 

30. Abraham received promises concerning 
his seed, and of the fruit of his loins, — from 
whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph, — 
which were to continue so long as they were in 
the world ; and as touching Abraham and his 
seed, out of the world they should continue ; 
both in the world and out of the world should 
they continue as innumerable as the stars ; or, 
if ye were to count the sand upon the sea shore, 
ye could not number them. 

******* 

37. Abraham received concubines, and they 



288 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



bear him children, and it was accounted unto 
him for righteousness, because they were given 
unto him, and he abode in my law, as Isaac also, 
and Jacob did none other things than that which 
they were commanded ; and because they did 
none other things than that which they were 
commanded, they have entered into their exalta- 
tion, according to the promises, and sit upon 
thrones, and are not angels, but are Gods. 

38. David also received many wives and 
concubines, as also Solomon and Moses, my 
servants ; as also many others of my servants, 
from the beginning of creation until this time ; 
and in nothing did they sin, save in those things 
which they received not of me. 

39. David's wives and concubines were given 
unto him, of me, by the hand of Nathan, my 
servant, and others of the prophets who had the 
keys of this power ; and in none of these things 
did he sin against me, save in the case of Uriah 
and his wife ; and, therefore, he hath fallen from 
his exaltation, and received his portion ; and he 
shall not inherit them out of the world ; for I 
gave them unto another, saith the Lord. 

******* 

41. And as ye have asked concerning 
adultery — verily, verily I say unto you, if a man 
receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting 
covenant, and if she be with another man, and I 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



289 



have not appointed unto her by the holy anoint- 
ing, she hath committed adultery, and shall be 
destroyed. 

42. If she be not in the new and everlasting 
covenant, and she be with another man. she has 
committed adultery. 

43. And if her husband be with another 
woman, and he was under a vow, he hath broken 
his vow, and hath committed adultery. 

44. And if she hath not committed adultery, 
but is innocent, and hath not broken her vow, 
and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, 
my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, 
by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to take 
her, and give her unto him that hath not com- 
mitted adultery, but hath been faithful ; for he 
shall be made ruler over many ; 

45. For I have conferred upon you the keys 
and power of the Priesthood, wherein I restore 
all things, and make known unto you all things 
in due time. 

46. And verily, verily I say unto you, that 
whatsoever you seal on earth, shall be sealed in 
heaven ; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in 
my name, and by my word, saith the Lord, it 
shall be eternally bound in the heavens ; and 
whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be 
remitted eternally in the heavens ; and whoseso- 



290 A detective's experience 

ever sins you retain on earth, shall be retained 
in heaven. 

47. And again, verily I say, whomsoever 
you bless, I will bless, and whomsoever you 
curse, I will curse, saith the Lord ; for I, the 
Lord, am thy God. 

48. And again, verily I say unto you, my 
servant Joseph, that whatsoever you give on 
earth, and to whomsoever you give any one 
on earth, by my word, and according to my law, 
it shall be visited with blessings, and not curs- 
ings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and 
shall be without condemnation on earth, and in 
heaven ; 

49. For I am the Lord thy God, and will be 
with thee even unto the end of the world, and 
through all eternity ; for verily, I seal upon you 
your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in 
the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your 
father. 

50. Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and 
will forgive all your sins ; I have seen your 
sacrifices, in obedience to that which I have told 
you ; go, therefore, and I make a way for your 
escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham, 
of his son Isaac. 

51. Verily, I say unto you, a commandment 
I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



29I 



wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay 
herself, and pertake not of that which I com- 
manded you to offer unto her ; for I did it, saith 
the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham ; 
and that I might require an offering at your 
hand, by covenant and sacrifice ; 

52. And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, 
receive all those that have been given unto my 
servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure 
before me ; and those who are not pure, and 
have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, 
saith the Lord God ; 

53. For I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall 
obey my voice ; and I give unto my servant 
Joseph, that he shall be made ruler over many 
things, for he hath been faithful over a few 
things, and from henceforth I will strengthen 
him. 

54. And I commanded mine handmaid, Em- 
ma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant 
Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not 
abide this commandment, she shall be destroyed, 
saith the Lord ; for I am the Lord thy God, and 
will destroy her, if she abide not in my law ; 

55. But if she will not abide this command- 
ment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things 
for her, even as he hath said ; and I will bless 
him and multiply him, and give unto him an hun- 
dred-fold in this werld, of fathers and mothers, 



292 A DETECTIVE'S EXPERIENCE 

brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives 
and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the 
eternal worlds. 

56. And again, verily I say, let mine hand- 
maid forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses ; 
and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, 
wherein she has trespassed against me ; and I, 
the Lord thy God, will bless her, and multiply 
her, and make her heart to rejoice. 

57. And again, I say, let not my servant 
Joseph put his property out of his hands, lest an 
enemy come and destroy him ; for Satan seeketh 
to destroy ; for I am the Lord thy God, and he 
is my servant ; and behold ! and lo, I am with 
him, as I was with Abraham, thy father, even 
unto his exaltation and glory. 

58. Now, as touching the law of the Priest- 
hood, there are many things pertaining there- 
unto. 

59. Verily, if a man be called of my Father, 
as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the 
voice of him that sent me ; and I have endowed 
him with the keys of the power of this Priest- 
hood, if he do anything in my name, and accord- 
ing to my law, and by my word, he will not 
commit sin, and I will justify him. 

60. Let no one, therefore, set on my servant 
Joseph ; for I will justify him ; for he shall do 



AMONG THE MORMONS. 



293 



the sacrifice which I require at his hands, for his 
transgressions, saith the Lord your God. 

61. And again, as pertaining to the law of 
the Priesthood : If any man espouse a virgin, 
and desire to espouse another, and the first give 
her consent ; and if he espouse the second, and 
they are virgins, and have vowed to no other 
man, then is he justified ; he cannot commit 
adultery, for they are given unto him ; for he 
cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth 
unto him and to no one else ; 

62. And if he have ten virgins given unto 
him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for 
they belong to him, and they are given unto him, 
therefore is he justified 

63. But if one or either of the ten virgins, 
after she is espoused, shall be with another man ; 
she has committed adultery, and shall be de- 
stroyed ; for they are given unto him to multiply 
and replenish the earth, according to my com- 
mandment, and to fulfill the promise which was 
given by my Father before the foundation of the 
world ; and for their exaltation in the eternal 
worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; 
for herein is the work of my Father continued, 
that he may be glorified. 

64. And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, 
if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of 
this power, and he teaches unto her the law of 



294 



A DETECTIVE'S experience 



my Priesthood, as pertaining to these things, 
then shall she believe, and administer unto him, 
or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your 
God, for I will destroy her ; for I will magnify 
my name upon all those who receive and abide 
in my law. 

65. Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she 
receive not this law, for him to receive all things, 
whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto 
him, because she did not administer unto him 
according to my word ; and she then becomes 
the transgressor ; and he is exempt from the law 
of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham ac- 
cording to the law, when I commanded Abraham 
to take Hager to wife. 

66, And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, 
verily, I say unto you, I will reveal more unto 
you, hereafter ; therefore, let this suffice for the 
present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. 
Amen. 



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AND MANY STATISTICAL TABLES 

Of practical value for Commercial Travelers, Mechanics, Merchants, 
Editors, Lawyers, Doctors, Printers, Painters, Farmers, Lumbermen, 
Bankers, Bookkeepers, Politicians, Housekeepers, and all classes of workers 
in every department of human effort; also a compilation of facts for ready 
reference that we guarantee can not be had in any other book or books at 
a cost of less than $io. It is an epitome of matters Historical, Statistical, 
Biographical, Political, Geographical and of General Interest. No one 
who has seen the book can get along without it, and those who have a 
copy of it would not part with it for ten times its price. 

AGENTS WANTED. 

Single copies sent postpaid on receipt of 25 cents. 

LAIRD & LEE, Publishers, 

Cor. Clark and Adams Sts., Chicago, III. 



POPULAR NOVELS 



Pop £ale by the jleiits .Agent on th.is I'rain. 



Large Type. Good Paper. 
Elegantly Bound. 



Delightful reading to while away a few hours of a weary 
journey. 

A Woman's Love, Mrs. M. E. Holmes. 

Her Fatal Sin, « " 

The Tragedy of Redmount, .... M « 

Bound by a Spell, Hugh Conway. 

Forced Apart; or, Exiled By Fatf, • • Morris Redwing. 

A Golden Heart, Bertha M. Clay. 

Mildred Trevanion, The " Duchess. " 

Lady Valworth's Diamonds, " " 

A House Party, - " Ouida. " 

Morgan's Horror, G. Manville Fenn. 

My Queen, ........ Mrs. Godfrey. 

Gotham and the Gothamites, - - - H. O. von Karlstein. 
Caught in a Corner; or, A Terrible Adventure, - G. W. Waters. 
Nana's Daughter, A Story of Parisian Life, - Alfred Sirven. 

Court Royal, S. Baring-Gould. 

Coward and Coquette, .... Mrs. Fairman Mann. 
Bristling with Thorns, - - . O. T. Beard. 

$5,000 Reward; or, Cornered at Last, • - Frank Pinkerton. 



A Life for a Life; or, The Detective's Triumph, M 
Dyke Darrel, the Railroad Detective; or, The 

Crime of the Midnight Express, " 
Jim Cummings; or, The Great Adams Express Robbery, u 
Marked For Life, 



The News Agent on this train has all the above books, and 
will be glad to show them to passengers. 



THE LATEST WORKS OF THE MOST POPULAR AUTHORS. 



J± WOMAN'S LOVE. 

WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS. 

HER FATAL STINT. 

WITH SEVEN ILLUSTRATIONS. 

By Mrs. M. E. HOLMES. 

" Mrs. M. E. Holmes' novels have taken their place among tne most popular works 
of the present day. They display the writer's peculiar excellencies, good taste, depth 
of observation, touches of feeling, and graphic and exciting pictures of life." — Ex. 



BOUND BY A SPELL. With Six Illustrations. 

By HUGH CONWAY. 

The mere mention of Hugh Conway as the author is sufficient guaranty «f the thrill- 
ing interest of the book. 



'Honor Bright,' and 'Twenty Crusoes. 

By D WIGHT WELTON. 

The above two complete stories comprise the first number of the "Hono„ Bright 
Series." No boy's library is complete without a copy. They are fully illustrated. 



DYKE DARREL, THE RAILROAD DETECTIVE; 

OR THE CRIME OF THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. 

By FRANK PINKERTON. 

This is pronounced to be the most startling narrative of detective work of the nine- 
teenth century. Fully illustrated. 



FORGED APART; OR, EXILED BY FATE. 

By MORRIS REDWING. 

Author of "Fighting for Fame," " The Lost Cause," In the Shadow of the Scaffold- " 
" Between the Lines," Etc., Etc. 



The above Books are all for sale on this train, and the News Agent 
will be pleased to show them. 



LAIRD & LEE, PUBLISHERS, 

286 South Water Street, - CHICAGO, ILL. 



Nana*s Daughter, 



A STORY OF PARISIAN LIFE. 

—BY- 
ALFRED SIRVEN and HENRI LEVERDIER, 

With a letter from the authors to M. Emile Zola. 
TRANSLATED FROM THE 25th. FRENCH EDITION. 



When M. Emile Zola wrote " Nana, " the world thought that no truer 
photograph of the kaleidoscopic life which is so truly and essentially 
Parisian could be brought out by any other author. It remained for 
Alfred Sirven and Henri Leverdier to combine French wit, ingenuity and 
realistic word-painting to disapprove this opinion. 

" Nana's Daughter," by these gentlemen, faithfully portrays, with 
graphic lights and shadows, that zone of Parisian life from which the beau 
m^nde gathers all that is chic, Frenchy and worldly. 

The character of Nana* : daughter, in vivid contrast to her mother, 
that queen of the demi-monde, shines like a pure crystal amid the sordid 
surroundings and demoniacal plots which at times almost engulphed her, 
and, irredescent to the last, remains untarnished and spotless, a tribute to 
virtue. 

The book maintains its thrilling interest to the very end. The charac- 
ters are skillfully sketched, and the plot most interestingly complicated. 



FOR SALE ON ALL TRAINS, AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 



Sent by mail postpaid on receipt of price. 

LAIRD & LEE, Publishers, 

CHICAGO. 



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